Rental assistance applications open Monday

The Nevada State Treasurer’s Office and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development have announced small businesses and non-profits will be able to apply for the state’s commercial rental assistance program beginning Monday.

The Nevada Commercial Rental Assistance Grant (CRAG) Program is using $20 million of Coronavirus Relief Funds to assist businesses and non-profit organizations that have experienced significant revenue declines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program will provide up to $10,000 in grants to eligible commercial tenants, which are not required to be paid back.

Landlords whose tenants participate in the CRAG Program will receive payments directly and must agree not to commence eviction proceedings against the tenant for 90 days following the receipt of payment.

To be eligible for the program, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Be a licensed for-profit business or a non-profit organization with Nevada as its principal place of business; have 50 or fewer full-time employees;
• have been in operation for at least six months prior to March 1;
• demonstrate at least a 30 percent loss of gross monthly revenue after March 1 as a direct result of COVID-19;
• have a physical commercial location with a current, active lease on commercial property in Nevada;
• must not have previously received more than $5,000 in funds from the Paycheck Protection Program or other COVID-19 rental assistance programs;
• must not have any outstanding tax liens.

Businesses should visit the GOED website at https://goed.nv.gov/commercial-rental-assistance-grant-crag-program/ to learn more and to find the application when it goes live.

The application period will be open for one week, and will close Aug. 31 at 5 p.m.

Once the application period closes, applications will be prioritized to support disadvantaged businesses along with businesses and non-profits with the greatest revenue losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state anticipates that approximately 2,000 to 3,000 businesses will receive rental assistance through this grant program.