Private landlords to be required, not just ‘encouraged’, to provide 2-week rental support to tenants: Lawrence Wong

• Eligible tenants who rent from private landlords will be given two weeks of government rental relief cash payout
• The Government is looking to make it mandatory for private landlords to provide another two weeks of rental support
• In the past, such landlords were only encouraged to do their part to match the rental relief from the state
• The change follows feedback from tenants that some landlords were not forthcoming in providing rental support

SINGAPORE — Landlords will soon be required to provide two weeks of rental support to their tenants due to the latest Phase Two (heightened alert) measures, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said on Monday (July 26).

This is a departure from the previous approach in which private landlords were only “encouraged” to do their part to match the rental relief provided by the Government.

“Many tenants, especially those in the affected food-and-beverage (F&B) and retail sectors, have told us that not all landlords were forthcoming in providing such rental support,” said Mr Wong in Parliament.

“This time, in light of the difficulties faced by many businesses, the Government intends to require landlords to provide a matching two-week rental support to their tenants.”

Mr Wong was speaking about the need for rental relief in a ministerial statement on new support measures during the latest heightened alert period from July 22 to Aug 18.

Such relief is necessary to aid eligible small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and non-profit organisations with their cash flow problems, Mr Wong said.

“Many told us that their situation is more strained this time. It’s not just having to enter into another heightened alert, but it’s the broader challenge of having to endure more than one and a half years’ worth of restrictions, as well as continued disruptions to their business,” he said.

Hence, as announced by the Ministry of Finance on July 23, the Government will be providing another four weeks of rental waiver for eligible tenants of government-owned commercial properties, he said.

Qualifying tenant-occupiers and owner-occupiers of privately owned commercial properties will be given two weeks of rental relief cash payout under the Rental Support Scheme, he said.

The relief scheme was announced during the earlier Phase Two (heightened alert) period from May 16 to June 13, moving away from the Government’s approach to past rental reliefs where cash grants were given to landlords with the expectation that landlords would pass on the relief to tenants through rental waivers.

The scheme meant that two weeks of cash grants were directly disbursed to tenants renting from private landlords, and landlords were encouraged to match this amount in rental waivers so that their tenants will be covered for a full month — which is roughly the duration of the heightened alert period.

With not all landlords doing so, the Government is looking to make this mandatory now.

Mr Wong, who is also a co-chair of the Government’s task force on Covid-19. said: “We recognise that not all landlords are in the same financial situation — some may have difficulty sharing the burden with their tenants.”

For these landlords who genuinely face hardship, the authorities will implement a process that takes their circumstances into consideration, he added.

More details on rental relief will be given later by the Ministry of Law.

Other measures that were previously announced included enhancements to the Jobs Support Scheme for affected sectors until Aug 18, more support for hawkers, market stallholders, taxi and private-hire car drivers, and an extension to Covid-19 Recovery Grant (Temporary) for individuals whose jobs were impacted by the pandemic measures.

This latest round of support measures will cost the Government S$1.1 billion, which will be funded through budget reallocations. There is no draw on past reserves, the finance minister said.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Mr Wong also noted that the ongoing heightened alert period is not expected to derail Singapore’s overall economic recovery, even though domestic sectors such as retail and F&B are impacted.

Around 70 per cent of Singapore's economic activities are external-facing, so the country remains on track to achieve an economic growth of 4 to 6 per cent for 2021 so long as external demand remains healthy, he added.

“The bigger uncertainty to our recovery therefore, is the impact that the Delta variant may have on the major economies in Europe and the United States and on external demand,” he said.

As countries open up, there are growing fears that the resurgence of cases leading to hospitalisations and death could force a return to lockdowns and impinge global economic growth.

“Ultimately, the best way to support our businesses and workers is to bring the infection under control, push up our vaccine coverage and reopen our economy.”