Reduction of professional rents:
A serious issue has been raised as to whether businesses and freelancers, as lessees of business leases, are entitled to pay the landlord (landlord) a 40% reduction in rent for the months of March and April (those closed by government order) and the month of April, the affected parties, in order to exercise this right, are obliged to fill in the required fields of the “Responsible Declaration of Businesses – Employers” in the ERGANI PS.
- Some professional organizations have made public the position that the relevant provision [1] which provides for a 40% reduction in the professional rents of their members “is a provision of immediate application, not i.e. the issuance of an implementing KYA” is required and the submission of any declaration by the lessee is not required”. In other words, they argue (by informing their members) that there is no need to make a prior declaration on the “ERGANI” platform of the Ministry of Labor. rent reduction, as well as the ability of business and residential landlords to benefit from the measures provided for them as well, we will quote, based on the provisions and circulars, the rationale, why the submission of the relevant declaration is a legal prerequisite for every reduction of the rent.
- Let’s see what support measures are provided for the lessors of commercial accommodation to businesses and professionals, either due to a ban on their operation by order of a public authority, or due to the choice of their companies-employers in the private sector, significantly affected by the coronavirus pandemic:
A) Extensions of debts: Extended[2] until 31/ 8/2020 the payment of certificates to the D.O.Y. / control centers of debts and installments of business arrangements due or expired from 11/3/2020 to 30/4/2020 and from 1/4/2020 to 30/4/2020, debts of natural persons lessors of real estate to businesses that have an active , main activity code on 20/03/2020 those referred to in the attached updated table[2] and debts of employees whose employment contract is suspended.
B) 25% discount for one-time payment of confirmed debts[3] (See related below the item [3]).
- Why should professional tenants fill in the details of the lessor in the declaration of the PS “ERGANI”, since they have a professional lease of a property for business activity and are entitled to a 40% discount:
The procedure for rent reductions by 40%, for employees and entrepreneurs, as part of the measures, due to the health crisis are clarified with the decisions [4] that have been issued for the implementation of the measures, from the combination of which (under item [4] below), it easily follows that:
First: a necessary legal condition for any professional to be entitled to a reduction in the rent of his professional home is the submission of a responsible declaration on the online platform “ERGANI” of the Ministry of Labor (https://supportemployees.yeka.gr), with the details of the lessor of, and the details of any employees suspended from work, (so that they – the employees – can also submit their own ID. to receive the special purpose allowance of 800 euros on the one hand and to present a copy to the landlord to reduce their rent of the main residence by 40% for the months of March and April 2020).
With regard to debt extensions, or the 25% discount for one-time payment of confirmed debts, to which lessors are entitled, according to information from the DILED of AADE, the relevant taxis net platform, derives the tax identification number of the lessor, from the declaration submitted to the “ERGANI” PES, the eligible lessee in the case of a professional lease, and the employee whose employment contract is suspended, in the case of the lease of his main residence.
Second: The procedure for submitting this statement is also provided for by decision 13272/Δ1.4607/30.3.2020[4] ( FEKB 1131/2.4.2020) and in combination with the other authorizing decisions. Therefore, it is mandatory and in fact it was simplified so that the lessee can submit it only with his TIN, when he lacks (due to lack of staff) an AME (Employee Registration Number) ).
- However, a significant number of freelancers in the category of victims and especially those who do not employ workers, consider (in our opinion, manifestly wrongly, based on the provisions cited in this article) that they have no obligation submission of this statement. However, in this way they deprive their landlords of any right, while they unilaterally apply the rent reduction in their favor, without the specific supporting document documenting it!
- It is worth noting that this situation will be further complicated, even more so when soon it will be necessary, according to the announcement of the Ministry of House, to implement a procedure for declaring rental losses, which will be based on the above responsible declarations of the professionals, the lack of which will mean the complete loss of any tax relief for real estate lessors!
- Because therefore the request for reducing the rent without submitting this responsible statement is illegal and its lack has adverse consequences for both sides, the authorities of the Ministries of Finance and Labor, (despite the relevant provision[4]in decree 13272/Δ1.4607/2020 (Government Gazette B’ 1131/02-04-2020) of the Ministry of Labor, must make it clear that they are liable for a declaration on the “ERGANI” platform of the Ministry of Labor professionals, even those who do not employ staff.
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[1] see cf. the 2nd article, entitled “Rental reduction of commercial leases and leases of main residence”, of the PNP 20.03.2020/2020, as valid after the addition of par. 3, with article 26 of Law 4683/2020 (Government Gazette B’ 83/10-04-2020) and is valid from the publication of the law in the Government Gazette, i.e. from 10/04/2020, in accordance with article 28 of the same law.
[2] See fig. the op. A. 1061/24-03-2020 AVO, which was issued after the amendment of article 2 of the 11/3/2020 PNP with the provisions of article five of the 20/3/2020 PNP (A’ 68), with the which this extension was also extended to natural persons lessors of real estate in the aforementioned companies and to employees of these companies whose employment contract is suspended (either due to a ban on the operation of the company by order of a public authority, or due to the fact that they are significantly affected by the coronavirus pandemic), which have an active, main activity code on 20/03/2020 those mentioned in the attached updated table.
See also, the nos. Α.1072/2-4-2020, Α.1073/2-4-2020, Α.1074/2-4-2020 and Α.1075/2-4-2020 AVO, with which it is extended until 31/8 /2020 the payment of certificates to the D.O.Y. / control centers of debts and installments of arrangements of the above businesses that expire or expired from 1/4/2020 to 30/4/2020 and this extension also includes the debts in question for a)……….. b) natural persons lessors of real estate in businesses that have an active, main or secondary CAO, as defined in the previous case a), one of those mentioned in the attachment to no. Α.1074/2-4-2020 THAT table (with the exceptions of persons who rent real estate to the entities mentioned in paragraph 2 above), c) natural persons employed ……………
[3]With the 30/3/2020 PNP (Government Gazette 75 A’), which amended article 2 of the 11/3/2020 PNP, it was defined that a percentage of twenty-five percent (25%) of the installments of debts certified (not overdue) to the Tax Administration, by the above businesses and natural persons (“closed” by order of a public authority, or “affected”) with a payment date of March 30, 2020 until April 30, 2020, as long as they are paid on time. Natural persons who lease real estate to businesses that have been financially affected due to the appearance and spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus are also subject to these regulations.
Sh. see and circular E.2046/09.04.2020, of the Governor of AADE.
[4]See according to the 2nd article, entitled “Reduction of rent for commercial leases and principal residence leases”, of PNP 20.03.2020/2020 (Government Gazette A’ 68/20-03-2020), as applicable after the addition of par. 3, with article 26 of Law 4683/2020 (Government Gazette B’ 83/10-04-2020) and is valid from the publication of the law in the Government Gazette, i.e. from 10/04/2020, according to with article 28 of the same law.
In the second article of the above PNP, it is provided for “reduction of rent of professional leases to a lessee of a professional lease to establish a business, for which special and extraordinary measures of suspension or temporary prohibition of operation have been taken”.
See also in KYA 12998/232/23-3-2020 (Government Gazette B΄1078 28-03-2020):
Chapter A΄ -A.1 article 4 : “Enterprises – employers, whose business activity has been suspended by order of a public authority, are required to submit…. “Responsible Declaration of Businesses – Employers” whose business activity has either been suspended by order of a public authority in which case they are beneficiaries of a reduction in the rent of professional leases, whether they are significantly affected, based on those defined by the Ministry of Finance KAD, ……… in the P.S. “ERGANI”, by which they declare: a) the suspension of their business activity by order of a public authority based on KAD, defined by the Ministry of Finance, as applicable from time to time, b) the details of the lessor and the leased property, if they have a business lease property to serve the business activity that has been suspended by order of a public authority.
A.2. (article 3): responsible statement declaring: a) that they are significantly affected, b) the workers whose employment contracts are suspended, c)….. 2.
“3. In the event that the employer-businesses do not submit the responsible declaration of case 1 of this paragraph, they are declared exempt from being subject to the measures of suspension of installment debts or arrangements or installment payment facilities and any kind of certified debts to the State”.
In the resolution 13031/D1. 4551/2020 (Official Gazette B’ 994/23-03-2020 and error corrections Official Gazette B’ 1038/26-03-2020), of the Ministry Work: I. Businesses-employers (“closed”): i) ……..ii) details of the lessor and the leased property if they have a business lease of a property to serve the business activity that has been suspended by order of a Public Authority , iii)……..iv)…… II. The affected businesses: i) that they are significantly affected, ii)…. iii)……iv)….
In the op. 13272/D1.4607/2020 (Official Gazette B’ 1131/02-04-2020) of the Ministry of of Labor (article one): “The form can be completed by the above even if they do not employ staff or do not have an activated AME, only with regard to the fields concerning the deduction of the rent of the professional lease if their operation has been suspended based on KAD (main activity on 20.3.2020 or secondary activity based on gross income or main activity of branch/s) or temporarily prohibited by order of public authority”
[5]Copy of a real Responsible Declaration of a business with a commercial lease, for a 40% reduction in rent, which is deprived of AME, due to non-employment of staff.
See the attached pdf text with the sample declaration:
Model declaration of responsibility
