Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (Updated: 2026)

The Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) program has ended. This article is retained for reference only.

New Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) for Tenants and Owners of Commercial Property

The Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) program was intended to replace the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program. The new CERS allowed businesses to apply directly for the benefit without having to go through landlords. Commercial property owners could also qualify for CERS.

CERS provided a subsidy for businesses, charities and non-profit organizations that had suffered a revenue drop due to COVID-19. Qualifying rent expenses for commercial tenants included gross rent; rent based on a percentage of sales, profit or similar criterion; amounts required to be paid under a triple net lease as regular instalments of operating expenses, property taxes and ancillary services; the qualifying rental amount had to be reduced by amounts received from subletting. Excluded amounts included common area maintenance reconciliation adjustments, fees for discrete items or special services, interest and penalties on unpaid amounts, and other specified items.

Commercial property owners could claim interest on mortgage or debt obligations secured on the qualifying property as well as insurance and property taxes; qualifying holding period costs were capped at $75,000 per period for property owners.

The calculation of CERS was aligned with the periods used for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). The first period for which businesses could claim CERS was September 27, 2020 to October 24, 2020. The maximum subsidy under the regular CERS program was 65% in a particular period. A “Lockdown Support” top-up of 25% was available for entities subject to a government-imposed lockdown (total support up to 90%).

The program is no longer in effect. For current business support programs, see Canada.ca.