Oregon small business owners who have struggled to pay their rent during the coronavirus pandemic can apply for help from the state beginning Monday, March 8.
Small business owners with 100 or fewer employees will be able to apply together with their landlords for money to cover outstanding rent through the state’s new $100 million commercial rent relief program.
Landlords must complete the initial application, but both the businesses and property owners need to participate in the application process and sign the grant agreement in order to qualify for funding.
Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency, is administering the program. It will award grants of up to $100,000 per business tenant for a maximum of $3 million going to each landlord.
The grants must bring the business owners current on their rent payments. Landlords will also be required to sign an agreement forgiving any outstanding penalties or interest and ensuring that their tenants won’t be evicted.
“This new funding comes at a critical time to bring small businesses out of accumulated debt caused by the pandemic,” said Chris Cummings, Business Oregon interim director, in a statement. “With improving COVID-19 numbers and us all doing our part to curb the spread, we can get businesses operating again. This program lets them get going with a little less weight on their shoulders.”
The Oregon Legislature’s Emergency Board voted to seed the fund in January. At the time, Business Oregon hoped to launch the program in February, but it took the agency longer than anticipated to work out the details of the new fund.
That has left small business owners who have struggled to keep up on their rent payments in a state of uncertainty.
Oregon lawmakers voted in December to extend the state’s residential eviction moratorium through June for renters experiencing hardships, but the state has not had a commercial eviction ban in place since the end of September.
Businesses have until March 31 to pay back their outstanding rent, which may have prevented an onslaught of commercial evictions in the months since the moratorium expired. But business owners who are unable to access help through the new commercial rent relief program could begin facing evictions in April.
It is unlikely that the $100 million in commercial assistance will be enough to meet the needs of businesses that have struggled to keep up with their rent during the pandemic.
Many Oregon businesses have been struggling for their survival since last March. Certain businesses, including gyms, restaurants and bars, have been shut down or required to limit operations multiple times throughout the pandemic as the state has announced revolving coronavirus restrictions.
The state has loosened those restrictions recently in many Oregon counties due to declining COVID-19 cases, but businesses that are open are still operating with enhanced safety requirements and limited capacity rules.
Business Oregon and other local government agencies across the state have launched numerous grant programs over the last year to help small businesses impacted by the pandemic, while the federal government has offered some relief through the Paycheck Protection Program and other Small Business Administration grants and loans.
Oregon’s emergency small business grant program helped 7,500 small businesses last year with $43 million in grants.
However, many of those grant programs, especially those at the local and state level, have been extremely competitive and many businesses have missed out on funding.
The new commercial rent relief program is the first statewide fund that specifically offers rent relief to small business owners and their landlords.
Business Oregon will keep the application process open for two weeks. The agency will distribute $50 million during the first round of funding before opening the application process for a second round in late April. Eligible applicants who don’t receive funding during the first round will automatically be considered with any new applicants during the second round.
Oregon is aiming to ensure that grants are distributed equitably across the state. Grantees in each area will be chosen through a lottery system.
Business owners and landlords can learn more about the program on Business Oregon’s website.
-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com | @jamiebgoldberg