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Victorian commercial tenants are now able to request further rent relief from their landlords, under the new Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme Regulations 2021 (the \u201cRegulations\u201d). The Regulations, released on 24 August 2021, come as welcome news for small business owners, amidst the numerous extended lockdowns.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To be eligible for rent relief, a tenant must show at least a 30% decline between:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The alternative turnover tests are new tests, which did not exist under the previous Regulations (CTRS) from March 2020. These tests are applicable in certain circumstances, including where:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The tenant’s rent relief request must be accompanied by a statement setting out the tenant\u2019s eligibility for rent relief and how its decline in turnover is calculated. In the statement, the tenant can also specify any circumstances that the tenant would like the landlord to consider in making a rent relief offer, which the landlord must then take into account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Within 14 days of making the request the tenant must provide:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once the tenant submits its rent relief request and all required supporting information to the landlord, the landlord must offer the tenant rent relief within 14 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At a minimum, such rent relief must be proportional to the tenant\u2019s decline in turnover and at least 50% of it must be in the form of a rent waiver. This minimum requirement is the same as that under the previous CTRS regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notable inclusions to the new Regulations include:<\/p>\n\n\n\nEligibility<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Alternative turnover tests explained<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Commencing the request process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Other important provisions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n