Tenants and landlords can waive or defer their rental amount if they are eligible for the 'Jobkeeper' program and have a turnover of $50 million or less annually.
For rent waivers, up to 50% of the rental amount can be waived, with the reduction proportionate to a business's fall in turnover.
For the deferral of rent, the full amount can be deferred, provided that money is repaid in the lease term.
If there is six months or less on the lease term, the parties have the pandemic period plus an extra 12 months to repay the amount.
Mr Morrison reinstated that tenants and landlords must work in good faith and sit down to come to a common solution.
“Landlords must not terminate the lease ... tenants must honour the lease,” Mr Morrison said.
“Landlords will be required to reduce rent proportionate to the decline in turnover.”
He also reiterated that banks would be required to help pitch in, after he and the premiers struck a deal with industry players to protect the parties involved.
An independent body will be set to mandate the new rules, with the states and territories still to announce a full new mandate on residential tenancy agreements.
On Monday, Queensland was the first state to offer any form of rental assistance for residential tenancies; a one-off payment of up to $2,000, paid directly to landlords.
To be eligible, tenants must have lost their job due to the pandemic and applied to Centrelink for income support, among other requirements.
The announcement comes after the Government announced a six-month moratorium on rental evictions last week.
The Prime Minister then said the co-operation between banks, tenants and landlords is vital to the Government's plan for the economy.
"This is part of the hibernation approach where we want people bespoke, customised to their own circumstances to sit down and work these things out," he said.
"There is no rulebook for this. We are in uncharted territory, but the goal should be shared."
Two-thirds of businesses cashflow impacted by COVID-19
New data released on Tuesday revealed 66% of Australian businesses reported their turnover or cash flow had reduced as a result of COVID-19.
The research, released as part of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) research on the impact of the coronavirus, found 47% of businesses had made changes to their workforce arrangements since the pandemic began.
This included temporarily reducing or increasing staff working hours, changing where staff worked, or staff being placed on leave.
38% of businesses had changed how they deliver their products or services, including shifting to online services.
Over a third of businesses had renegotiated their lease and rental arrangements and a quarter had deferred loan repayments.
Ready, Set, Buy!
Learn everything you need to know about buying property – from choosing the right property and home loan, to the purchasing process, tips to save money and more!
With bonus Q&A sheet and Crossword!
Denise Raward
Harry O'Sullivan
Rachel Horan
