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The City of Cape Town adopts rental relief options for business lessees
10 June 2020
The rapid onset of the COVID-19 crisis will have many long-lasting and unforeseen economic impacts on the City’s economy, according to Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, Alderman James Vos.
“One of the many concerns are businesses that were forced to shut their doors during the national lockdown, “ he added, saying that Small, Medium and Micro Entreprises (SMMEs) not yet large enough to have developed long term business continuity practices and who still relied on cash flow from month-to-month would feel the hardest hit.
“In response,” he continued, “the City of Cape Town has announced its adoption of rental relief options for its business lessees.” Vos said that rental relief was aimed at helping to cushion the blows dealt by restricted economic activity and the potential loss of business, with a two-phased consumer journey put into play.
“We have established the Real Estate Services Task Team (RESTT) as one of three key disaster response initiatives within EOAM to give full effect to the COVID-19 disaster response and mitigation,” explained Vos. He added the City would continue to partner with as many stakeholders as possible to find innovative solutions to overcome difficult economic challenges. According to Vos, the City also wanted to find ways in which they could best support companies particularly hard hit.
Vos outlined the City of Cape Town’s two-phased consumer journey:
Phase 1
Rental remission will be provided to commercial lessees based on an application made to the Property Management Department and evaluated in terms of a proven business case by the applicant.
Phase 2
Repayment arrangements will be granted to commercial lessees based on an application made to the Revenue Department and evaluated in terms of a proven business case and aligned to existing lease terms and conditions.
“I encourage all of the City’s commercial lessees who were forced to close their businesses temporarily or permanently during the lockdown period to respond and to apply for a rental remission,” said Vos. He added that the City of Cape Town would also be in frequent communication with each lessee.
Lessees may apply for rental remission via email – realestate.service@capetown.gov.za
Originally written in Property Wheels
