RO lawmakers pass bill to help tenants in distress defer rent payments

Romanian companies and freelancers can defer the rent payments for their headquarters and secondary offices for the duration of the state of emergency in the country, under a bill passed by the Chamber of Deputies, Economica.net reported.

Individuals will also have the possibility to defer the rent payments for their homes without paying any penalties.

To benefit from this facility, the companies and individuals will have to prove that their revenues declined by at least 15% in March compared to the monthly average, following the state of emergency.

The local tax collection agencies will pay the rents to the landlords on behalf of the tenants. They will recover the money from the tenants, in installments, by the end of the year.

There are also limitations to the value of the monthly rents covered by this facility (RON 10,000 for firms and RON 2,000 for individuals).

Meanwhile, landlords who reduce the rents charged from their tenants by 30% compared to February, for the rest of the year, won't have to pay any income tax, under the same bill.

The Social Democrat Party (PSD) drafted the bill and passed it in the Parliament, with the support of all the other parties except for the ruling Liberal Party (PNL).

PNL MPs have warned that the law would have a negative impact on the budget execution and blamed the Social Democrats for "torpedoing" the budget.

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