Important information

Eligible small landlords and their tenants must have agreed a rent waiver or non-payment of at least 50 per cent of the agreed rent relief provided between 28 July 2021 and 15 January 2022 under the Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme.

Only rent waivers will be considered for a grant from this fund. A waiver is non-payment of rent.

A small landlord can make one application for each tenancy eligible under the Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme if their total taxable landholdings are under $3 million, excluding their primary place of residence.

Landlords must provide information about the rent waiver agreed with their tenant(s) using the Landlord acceptance letter (DOCX 48.82 KB) (or similar) when applying.

To be considered for acute hardship and apply for a grant of up to $10,000, landlords must have waived more than $6000 in rent between 28 July 2021 and 15 January 2022 and submit a Qualified agent letter (DOCX 58.62 KB).

If there are multiple property owners, the grant will be allocated according to ownership share in the property.

Grants must be used by small landlords to offset the rent waiver to their tenant(s) as agreed under the Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme.

You may use the following forms of identification in your application:

• Driver licence
• Medicare card
• Australian visa
• Australian passport.

If you are having trouble completing the application or need help, please call the Business Victoria hotline on 13 22 15.

What support is available?

Small landlords who waive commercial rent for their tenants between 28 July 2021 and 15 January 2022 under the Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme may be eligible to receive a grant of up to $6000 per eligible tenancy.

The grant amount will be equal to the amount of rent waived per eligible tenancy, up to $6000.

In cases where landlords are experiencing acute hardship because of the rent waiver agreed with their tenant(s), the grant may be increased to a maximum of $10,000 per eligible tenancy.

If there are multiple property owners, grants will be allocated according to ownership share in the property.

Example: Three part-owners hold equal shares in a rental property and waived a total of $2400 in rent for their tenant through the Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme for the period 28 July 2021 to 15 January 2022. Each part-owner is entitled to one third of a $2400 grant, i.e. $800 each.

For information about Land Tax Relief for landlords, visit State Revenue Office - Coronavirus land tax relief.

Who can apply for this grant?

Landlords can apply if they meet all the eligibility criteria outlined in the program guidelines:

• be a landlord with total taxable landholdings of less than $3 million, including part holdings but excluding principal place of residence, or where a property is held on trust, the total taxable landholdings of the trust must be less than $3 million
• be able to confirm property ownership by Customer Number shown on the State Revenue Office Land Tax Assessment Notice or by a 2020-21 Municipal Rates Notice
• be the landlord of property subject to a Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme eligible tenancy
• be a landlord with a current lease agreement that provides rent relief to the tenant(s) under the Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme for any period between 28 July 2021 and 15 January 2022
• not occupy the eligible tenancy.

Landlords must attest that commercial rent represents more than 50 per cent of their total gross income for the 2019-20 financial year or any financial year thereafter.

Evidence to support your application

Landlords must confirm:

• ownership of the property by the Customer Number shown on a State Revenue Office Land Tax Assessment Notice or by a 2020-21 Municipal Rates Notice
• rent relief to the tenant(s) of a property that is subject to a Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme agreement. You must provide information about the rent relief agreed with your tenant(s) using the Landlord acceptance letter (DOCX 48.82 KB)(or similar).

To be considered for acute hardship and apply for a grant of up to $10,000, landlords must also submit a Qualified agent letter (DOCX 58.62 KB) using the approved template that includes confirmation that:

• commercial rent represents at least 70 per cent of their total gross annual income for the 2019-20 financial year
• the landlord is neither an owner occupier nor a related party of the tenant.

The following circumstances may be considered in deciding to award a grant:

• any adverse findings by a regulator regarding a property owner
• an owner or joint owners being declared bankrupt.

All questions in the application must be completed to ensure timely assessment and grant payment.

Landlords may be subject to audit by the Victorian Government or its representatives for a period of seven years after the grant has been approved. Under audit, landlords will be required to show evidence of hardship, such as income tax assessments.

The grant will be repayable on demand if any information in the application is found to be false or misleading, or the grant is not used in accordance with the terms set out in the program guidelines.

How to apply

Applications for this program closed at 11:59pm on 15 January 2022.

All questions in the application must be completed in full and any requested documentation attached to ensure timely assessment and grant payment.

The Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions will endeavour to notify all landlords of the outcome of their submitted application within 30 business days of receiving a completed application.

For further assistance please contact us or call the Business Victoria hotline on 13 22 15.

Program guidelines

Commercial Landlord Hardship Fund 3 Guidelines (PDF 264.32 KB)

Commercial Landlord Hardship Fund 3 Guidelines (DOCX 1554.53 KB)

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

See the full list of FAQs.

Commercial Landlord Hardship Fund 3 in languages other than English

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