The Government of Canada's new subsidy program, called the
Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS), is billed as providing
"direct and easy-to-access" subsidies to a
"qualifying renter," which includes both tenants and
subtenants, and property owners. Unlike the government's first
kick at the can for commercial rent relief under the Canada
Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program (CECRA), tenants (and
subtenants) can apply directly for relief payments under CERS
without the need to get landlord cooperation or support. However,
there are limitations on what eligible expenses qualify and who may
receive the subsidy.
CERS will be available until June 2021 and, presently,
qualifying renters will be able to make claims for qualifying
periods of roughly one month each, beginning retroactively from
September 27, 2020. The amount of subsidy available for a
qualifying renter will depend on the amount of eligible expenses
that are claimed for a qualifying property, the
