NSW commercial tenants significantly impacted by COVID-19 will have greater protection from evictions with the State Government set to enact the National Cabinet Code of Conduct as part of a $440 million land tax relief package.
\nThe measures will apply to commercial leases where the tenant is in financial distress due to COVID-19, including but not limited to shops, cafes, gyms, hairdressers, restaurants, offices, warehouses and industrial sites.
\nThe land tax relief is expected to be divided approximately 50-50 with around $220 million going to the commercial sector and a further $220 million expected to benefit the residential sector.
\nCommercial landlords will be offered the land tax concession if they pass the savings on to tenants through a rent reduction.
\nEligible landlords will be able to apply for a land tax concession of up to 25 per cent of their 2020 (calendar year) land tax liability on relevant properties. A further land tax deferral for any outstanding amounts for a three-month period will also be offered to landlords who claim the land tax concession.
\nThe Government will give effect to the Code of Conduct, which will operate for a temporary period during the pandemic, and include the following key measures:<\/p>\n
The policy will apply to business tenants with a turnover of less than $50 million that experience a 30 per cent (or more) reduction in revenue as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, in line with the Prime Minister\u2019s announcement on 7 April.
\nThis will include any business with annual turnover of less than $50 million who is eligible for the Commonwealth\u2019s JobKeeper program.
\nTreasurer Dominic Perrottet welcomed the initiatives, saying they would help businesses stay afloat and provide greater surety for tenants and landlords.
\n\u201cThis provides a way forward for tenants and landlords so they can reach an agreement during this difficult period and includes an incentive in the form of a land tax reduction.\u201d Mr Perrottet said.
\n\u201cI thank the many landlords who are already supporting their tenants through this period and the banks for showing flexibility with deferring loan repayments – we are all in this together and need to work together.\u201d
\nFinance and Small Business Minister Damien Tudehope said the package demonstrated the need for a united effort to endure the COVID-19 pandemic.
\n\u201cBreathing room on rent is one of the most frequently raised issues by businesses, and we want to ensure we protect retailers and offer landlords an incentive to do so. We also want to ensure retail tenants have more time and options,\u201d Mr Tudehope said.
\n\u201cFor any small business rent is one of the biggest fixed costs, easing this burden will help operators survive and keep people employed.\u201d
\nMr Perrottet said it was important that both landlords and tenants understood that the policy only applied to those businesses significantly impacted by COVID-19.
\n\u201cIf your circumstances have not significantly changed you need to fulfil the terms of your existing agreement.\u201d Mr Perrottet said.
\nPrime Minister Scott Morrison released the National Cabinet Mandatory Code Of Conduct – SME Leasing Principles During COVID-19 on Tuesday, 7 April.
\nThe NSW Government will seek to give legal effect to the code as soon as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NSW commercial tenants significantly impacted by COVID-19 will have greater protection from evictions with the State Government set to enact the National Cabinet Code of Conduct as part of a $440 million land tax relief package. The measures will apply to commercial leases where the tenant is in financial distress due to COVID-19, including but … Continue reading “NSW GOVERNMENT OFFERS $440 MILLION LAND TAX BREAK TO SUPPORT TENANTS AND LANDLORDS”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6004\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}