DRAFT LAW TO EXTEND RENT REDUCTION TO THE MONTH OF MAY!

As far as property owners are concerned, the rent reduction is extended for the month of May 2020, while the 25% discount on the payment of May debts is once again instituted only for those who are subject to cuts in professional rents , and not house rents!!! 

The provision for the extension of the rent reduction for professional leases, principal residence leases, dependent member-student leases and seafarer leases for the month of May 2020.

Article 2

The second article of the Legislative Content Act from 20.03.2020 (A’ 68), which was ratified by article 1 of Law 4683/2020 (A’ 83) is replaced by the time of entry into force of the PNP as follows:

“Article two

Reduction of rent of professional leases and principal residence leases1. The lessee of a commercial lease to establish a business, for which special and extraordinary measures have been taken to suspend or temporarily prohibit operations for preventive or repressive reasons related to the COVID-19 coronavirus, is exempted from the obligation to pay 40% of the total rent for the months of March, April and May 2020, in derogation of the written provisions on leases. Stamp duty and VAT as the case may be are recalculated and imposed on the rent resulting from the above partial payment. The partial non-payment of the rent of the first paragraph does not give rise to the right to terminate the contract at the expense of the lessee or any other civil claim. The provisions in the previous paragraphs also apply to the case of tenants who have been granted the use of a thing, movable or immovable, or both together, intended exclusively for professional use in the context of financial leasing, and concerns businesses for which special and extraordinary measures have been taken to suspend or temporarily ban operations for preventive or repressive reasons related to the COVID-19 coronavirus, through the extension of the repayment time of the above rate of 40% in up to twelve (12) monthly installments for contracts real estate leasing and in up to six (6) monthly installments for mobile leasing contracts through lease restructuring agreements entered into by leasing companies. The increased capital depreciation rents payable at the commencement of the finance lease are repaid in full on the agreed dates.

2. Paragraph 1 also applies to principal residence lease contracts, in which the lessee is an employee or the spouse or the other party to a cohabitation agreement of an employee in a company of the same paragraph, whose employment contract has been temporarily suspended due to the measures to avoid the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19. For the application of the previous paragraph, it is required that the employee, regardless of whether he or his spouse or the other party to a cohabitation agreement has been contracted as a tenant, was associated with an employment relationship with the company at the time of the start of the application of the special and extraordinary suspension measures or temporary closure for preventive or repressive reasons related to the COVID-19 coronavirus. 
3. The lessee of a business lease to set up a business, which has been seriously affected by the epidemic of the corona virus COVID-19, by virtue of the decisions issued under the authority of par. 2 of article 1, of par. 2 of article 2 and paragraphs 1 and 2 of article 3 of the Legislative Content Act of 11.3.2020 (A ́55), as sanctioned by article 2 of Law 4682/2020 (A ́ 76), is exempted from the obligation to pay the 40% of the total rent for the months of April and May 2020, in derogation of the written provisions on leases, in accordance with the other provisions in par. 1. The provisions in the previous paragraph also apply to the case of tenants to whom the use of a thing has been granted in return for rent , movable or immovable, or both together, intended exclusively for professional use in the context of financial leasing, and concerns businesses of the first paragraph, through the extension of the repayment time of the above rate of 40% to up to twelve (12 ) monthly installments for real estate leasing contracts and up to six (6) monthly installments for mobile leasing contracts through lease restructuring agreements entered into by leasing companies. The increased capital depreciation rents payable at the commencement of the finance lease are repaid in full on the agreed dates. The provisions of the first paragraph also apply to the rental contracts of a main residence, in which the lessee is an employee or the spouse or the other party to a cohabitation agreement of an employee in a company of the first paragraph whose employment contract has been temporarily suspended due to the measures to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus -19, subject to the conditions of par. 2.4. By a joint decision of the Ministers of Finance, Development and Investments and Labor and Social Affairs, after a proposal by the Governor of the Independent Public Revenue Authority, the procedure, the necessary supporting documents, the most specific terms and conditions, as well as every other detail for the implementation of hereafter.”.
4. Article 3 of Law 4684/2020 (A’ 86) is replaced as follows:

“Article 3 Reduction of rent for conditional leases of dependent members – students

1. The exemption from the obligation to pay 40% of the total rent for the months of April and May 2020, in derogation of the written provisions on leases, in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 3 of the second article of the Legislative Content Act of 20.3.2020 (A’ 68), as ratified by article 1 of Law 4683/2020 (A’ 83), also applies to real estate lease contracts to cover the housing needs of a child – a dependent member, who attends a higher education institution outside his place of permanent residence, as long as at least one parent is an employee of an enterprise of par. 1 or of par. 3 of the above article, and whose employment contract has been temporarily suspended due to the measures to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, in compliance with the other conditions of the same article.
2. By joint decision of Ministers of Finance, Development and Investments and Labor and Social Affairs, upon the recommendation of the Governor of the Independent Public Revenue Authority, determine the procedure, the necessary supporting documents, the most specific terms and conditions, as well as every other detail for the implementation of this.”
3. Paragraph 4 of the sixty-third article of the Legislative Content Act (A ́ 68) of 30.03.2020, ratified by article 1 of Law 4684/2020, is replaced as follows: “4. Seafarers whose chartering contract is suspended in accordance with par. 2 or their spouse or the other party to a cohabitation agreement are exempted from the obligation to pay 40% of the total rent of the main residence for the months of April and May 2020, in derogation of the written provisions on leases. By a joint decision of the Ministers of Finance, Development and Investments and Maritime and Island Policy, after a proposal by the Governor of the Independent Public Revenue Authority, the procedure, the necessary supporting documents, the most specific terms and conditions, as well as every other detail for the implementation of the present.”

The provision for the extension of the benefit of the 25% rate discount to timely installments of confirmed debts in May 2020.

Article 3

Extension of the benefit of the 25% rate discount to installment payments installments of confirmed debts for the month of May 2020

1. In par. 1 of article 2 of the Legislative Content Act of 11.3.2020 (A ́ 55) which was ratified with the article 2 of Law 4682/2020 (A ́76), a seventh paragraph is added and paragraph 1 is formulated as follows:

1. In businesses that were financially affected due to of the emergence and spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, as well as to employees of these businesses, the payment deadline may be extended and the collection of confirmed debts to the D.O.Y or the Control Centers, as well as the deadlines for payment of the settlement installments, may be suspended or facilities for partial payment of confirmed debts. During the period of extension of the deadline and suspension of payment of confirmed debts and installments of arrangements or partial payment of confirmed debts, the amounts due are not charged with interest or surcharges. The provisions of the previous subsections also apply to natural persons who lease real estate to businesses that have been financially affected due to the appearance and spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Twenty-five percent (25%) of the installments of their debts certified to the Tax Administration with a payment date from March 30, 2020 to April 30, 2020 is deducted for the above businesses and natural persons identified by the decisions of par. 2 , as long as they are paid on time. In the case of debts that are in a regime of arrangement/facilitation of partial payment, twenty-five percent (25%) of the amount of the installment of the arrangement is deducted. From the benefit of the previous paragraph, debts from VAT and withholding taxes that have not been subject to a regime of partial payment regulation/facilitation, as well as debts arising from the recovery of state aid and debt in favor of a foreign State, are excluded. The discount of twenty-five percent (25%) is also extended to timely paid installments of confirmed debts and installments of arrangements or installment payment facilities with a payment date within the month of May 2020 for businesses and natural persons, for which the deadline for payment of said debts it is extended to them with the decisions of par. 2 subject to the exceptions of the previous paragraph. The discount of twenty-five percent (25%) of the fourth paragraph also applies to debts hereunder paid from March 11, 2020 to March 29, 2020 and is carried out by offsetting an amount equal to the amount of the discount with other confirmed debts, or installments of arrangements or installment payment facilities to the Tax Administration, which have final payment dates after June 1, 2020. By decision of the Minister of Finance, which is issued after the recommendation of the Governor of the Independent Public Revenue Authority, an earlier or later date may be determined of June 1, 2020, more specific terms and conditions as well as any other necessary detail for the implementation of the previous paragraph.”
2. The provision of the seventh paragraph of par. 1 does not apply to debts paid before 11.3 .2020.