S$216m in rent support to be disbursed to over 38,000 tenants, owner-occupiers

OVER 38,400 tenants and owner-occupiers will get their first Rental Support Scheme (RSS) payouts directly from the government, without going through landlords, from Friday.

The first round of payouts totals S$216 million and comes ahead of schedule by two weeks, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) and Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in a joint press statement on Thursday.

Eligible tenants and owner-occupiers with PayNow or existing GIRO arrangements with Iras can expect to receive the RSS cash payouts from Aug 6. Those without will receive their cheques by Aug 20.

"We will provide the rental support directly to tenants, without going through their landlords. This lets tenants receive the cash promptly and reduces compliance burden for landlords," said Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in a Facebook post.

Small and medium enterprises and eligible non-profit organisations with annual revenue not exceeding S$100 million, and are tenants or owner-occupiers of qualifying commercial properties are able to receive a payout equivalent to half month's rent for the May 14-29 period.

A second disbursement of RSS cash payouts of half a month's rent for qualifying tenants and owner-occupiers of privately-owned commercial properties will take place in October 2021.

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This separate round of payouts addresses the tightened safe management measures for the reversion to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) from July 22 to Aug 18. MOF will release another update closer to the second disbursement, the joint statement noted.

MOF announced the RSS on May 28 to help businesses with rental costs, as part of a package of support measures to tide over restrictions during the first Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) period from May 16 to June 13.

MOF and Iras said eligible tenants and owner-occupiers will be notified by post about the RSS cash payout. They are also able to log into the myTax Portal from Friday to view the electronic copy of the letter.

The cash payout will not be disbursed automatically to tenants renting only part of a property, tenants renting a mixed-use property (i.e. shophouse for both retail and residential use), or to licensees.

Those who do not receive the payout notification can apply to Iras for the payout from Aug 16, Iras and MOF said.

READ MORE:

• Landlords must match government's 2-week rental support for tenants
• S$1.1b support package for Phase 2 Heightened Alert to be funded through budget reallocation
• Sharing of rent liabilities will hit office, industrial Reits more