Vulnerable residents of Riga have the opportunity to receive allowance to ensure the guaranteed minimum of the income level and housing allowance to pay for housing expenses as well as allowance for health care and others. Read more updated measure here
Contact: Egita Alzsilniece
Small and medium enterprises and local shops in buildings owned by the Osmangazi Municipality can pay their rent later. The city council has decided to defer its receivables from its approximately 800 renters that pay their rents or occupancy taxes monthly. This decision, combined with other economic measures put in place by the local authorities, aims to relief the struggle entrepreneurs and businesses are going through in the corona crisis. Read more here (in Turkish)
Contact: Şenol Dülger
Evictions are prohibited in the private rental market in Vienna in the corona crisis. Anyone who has difficulty paying the rent between April and June due to the impact of the corona restrictions can repay the arrears until December. Eviction executions are postponed for three months on request of the tenant, to get time to find new housing. In Vienna, already 14,000 citizens sought help at “wohnservice wien”, the city´s competence center for all issues related to housing.
Continue reading “Vienna – Protection for tenants”Bordeaux has implemented a range of measures to support the local economy and businesses. These include:
Stuttgart has published a summary of measures that it has taken to ensure those who are not able to work or who have childcare complications can be reimbursed. Other measures include the deferral of several municipal taxes, such as trade tax and rents, and grants are made available for culture and sports venues. For those that are simply unable to work as a result of the current measures, access to unemployment services have also been eased. Read more here and here and here
Contact: Claudia Schulcz
Tallinn has implemented a number of measures to support local entrepreneurs and businesses. The aid measures are primarily targeted at businesses that have a contractual relationship with the city or have a big impact on the city’s activities.
The city will pay its bills faster, reducing its own payment deadline from 21-30 calendar days to just 10 calendar days to improve the cash flow of the companies. The city will also waive contractual sanctions in the event of difficulties that occur due to the ongoing emergency situation when fulfilling an order or delivery. Tallinn has reduced advertising tax by 50%, and exempted advertisements on the sides of buildings from paying rent. The city is also reducing rent for contractors and cancelling rent from sports venues, while continuing to pay subsidies for sports activities if the clubs can find a way to bring those activities online.
These measures are planned to last for three months or until the end of the year depending on the specific measure. These measures will have an effect on the budget and the local government is preparing a supplementary budget to take this into account. The impact of the business support package on the city budget may be up to €4 million.
Find more information here.
Contact: Kerttu Märtin
Debrecen is offering discounts on rent to shops and businesses for which the city is landlord. Those that were forced to temporarily close can apply for a 90% discount on their rental fee until 30 June. Those who stay open with restricted opening hours can apply for a 50% discount. Read more and watch the video announcement of the mayor (in Hungarian) here.
In order to support other businesses the city’s economic development center has initiated an online survey to better understand the challenges companies are facing due to the pandemic. Read more (in Hungarian) here.
Contact: László Mátyus
The local authority in Linz have set up a grant scheme to ensure the future of hard-hit cultural and sporting venues. Clubs or associations that are using municipal properties will also likely be supported through rent exemptions. Read more here
In order to protect jobs and income of freelancers, small and medium enterprises and cultural institutions, the city of Utrecht complements the national Dutch support programme with local initiatives aimed to provide quick results. The measures include suspended collection of taxes and rent as well as compensation for cancelled events. The measures and reassurance have been communicated through a letter in Dutch and English.
Contact: David Langerak
Barcelona has announced a moratorium on rents for properties managed by Barcelona Municipal Housing and Rehabilitation Institute (IMHAB), both housing and commercial premises. For three months, a total of 12,000 tenants will not have to pay for their accommodation or commercial premises. When rent collection resumes, tenants will make up for these months by paying slightly more rent each month until December.
In order to tackle this package of measures, the City Council has enabled an extraordinary item of €3.5 million in the municipal budget, which can be extended up to €5.5 million. Read more (in Catalan) here.
Contact: Marta Puchal
Mayor Ada Colau has announced new plans to offer tourist apartments to vulnerable families whose current accommodation does not meet conditions to endure confinement. Further housing measures are focussed on helping homeless people through the crisis. Read more here
Contact: Marta Puchal
London’s public transport company is granting a three month reprieve from rent for all small and medium sized businesses located on its property. Read more here
Contact: Ian Catlow
