We refer to the letter by Mr Cheong Wing Kiat about the Rental Relief Framework to help SMEs affected by COVID-19 (“Questions remain for landlords with new law to help SMEs with rent”, ST, 13 June).

The Law passed in Parliament provides rent waivers and other relief to SMEs. The rental waivers are for the period of April to July 2020 for eligible SMEs in commercial properties (the Government will provide 2 months of cash rebates, and landlords will waive 2 months), and April to May 2020 for eligible SMEs in industrial/office properties (the Government will provide one month cash rebate, and landlords will waive one month rent). To receive the additional rental waiver which is to be borne by the landlords, on top of the Government assisted portion, SMEs will need to have suffered a 35 per cent or more drop in average revenue for the months April – May 2020.

Tenants will be required to provide the necessary information to determine eligibility to the landlord upon request. If landlords do not agree or are unable to determine eligibility on their own, they will have the opportunity to apply to have an Assessor, appointed by the Ministry of Law to determine whether the tenant satisfies the eligibility criteria to receive the additional rental waiver. The Assessor’s determination will be binding on both the landlord and the tenant. More information on the application process and assessment criteria will be shared in due course.

Property tax for a commercial or industrial property is calculated based on 10% of its Annual Value (AV). The AV for any given year is the estimated annual rental a property could fetch if it is let out during that year. The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) will monitor market conditions and look at transaction evidence to see if there is any basis to review the 2020 AV. 

Andrea Goh
Director, Corporate Communications Division
Ministry of Law

Kelly Wee (Ms)
Director (Corporate Communications)
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore