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  • Covid-19.The Government gives the green light to apply moratoriums on the rental of commercial premises

The Council of Ministers gave the green light on Tuesday to a mechanism for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the self-employed to benefit from a series of aid that allows them to face the rental of their commercial premises in the face of the difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic .

This Wednesday, the Official State Gazette (BOE) collects the detail of this mechanism that, as happened with residential rental, distinguishes between large and small owner, taking into account that they have, respectively, more or less than 10 urban properties, excluding garages and storage rooms.

Who can request them: requirements

In the event that the tenant is autonomous:

  • Be affiliated and registered, on the date of the declaration of the state of alarm, on March 14
  • That its activity has been suspended as a result of the entry into force of the state of alarm or by orders issued by the competent Authority
  • If your activity was not directly suspended by the state of alarm, you must prove the reduction in the billing of the calendar month prior to the one requested for postponement by at least 75% in relation to the average monthly billing of the quarter to which the said belongs month referring to the previous year

If the tenant is an SME:

  • That the limits established in article 257.1 of Royal Legislative Decree 1/2010, of July 2, which approves the consolidated text of the Capital Companies Law, are not exceeded
  • That its activity has been suspended as a consequence of the entry into force of the state of alarm or by orders issued by the competent Authority
  • If your activity was not directly suspended due to the state of alarm, the reduction in your billing for the calendar month prior to the request for the deferral must be proven by at least 75% in relation to the average monthly billing for the quarter to which that month belongs to the previous year

When the landlord is a big fork ...

The small business owner or self-employed tenant may request from the leasing entity, within a month from the entry into force of this royal decree-law, a moratorium on the payment of rent that must be accepted by the lessor provided that it is not it would have already reached an agreement between both parties for a moratorium or reduction of income.

Said moratorium will be applied automatically and will affect the period of time that the alarm state lasts and its extensions and the following monthly payments, extendable one by one, if that period is insufficient in relation to the impact caused by the Covid-19, without that it can be exceeded, in any case, the four months.

As stated in the BOE, said income will be deferred without interest from the next monthly rental income and will be divided into installments over a period of two years. They will be counted from the moment the situation of the alarm state ends or from the end of the term of the four extendable months, and always within the term of the lease.

When the landlord is a small landlord ...

The tenant in this case may request from the lessor, within a month, from the entry into force of the Royal Decree-law, the temporary and extraordinary delay in the payment of rent provided that both parties had not previously arrived to a friendly agreement.

Another novelty in this case is that both landlord and tenant may make use of the deposit paid at the beginning of the contract "for the total or partial payment of one or more monthly payments of the rent." In the event that it is fully or partially available, the regulation establishes that the lessee must replace the amount of the deposit within one year of the agreement or within the remaining term of the contract, in the event that this period is less than one year.

How to prove the requirements

In order for the pertinent aid to be granted, the tenants must prove that they meet the established requirements and will do so in the following way:

  • The reduction in activity will be initially credited by filing a responsible statement in which, based on accounting information and income and expenses, the reduction in monthly billing is recorded at least 75% in relation to the average monthly billing for the same quarter of the previous year. In any case, when the lessor requires it, the lessee will have to show his accounting books to the lessor to prove the reduction of the activity.
  • For its part, the suspension of activity will be accredited by means of a certificate issued by the State Agency for Tax Administration or the competent body of the Autonomous Community, where appropriate, based on the declaration of cessation of activity declared by the interested party.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Rental
  • economy
  • living place
  • Coronavirus
  • Covid 19

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