Background information

This is a support program for businesses affected by the COVID-19 crisis to compensate for the fall in rental income from the shopping centre it owns as a result of measures to curb the spread of the virus. The measure is suggested by the Ministry of Economics. The measure is introduced with the Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 229 “On support for COVID-19 crisis-affected shopping centres”.

Content of measure

The support, in the form of a one-off grant, will be granted to a COVID-19 crisis-affected entrepreneur to compensate for the loss of rental income of its shopping centre to cover operating costs (building-related payments, including electricity, water and heat, real estate rental, liability payments, including credit payments and outsourcing costs) from 1 December 2020 to 31 December 2021.

A shopping centre is considered to be a building which simultaneously meets all of the following characteristics:

• arranged for constant and systematic trading;
• the total trade area is more than 7,000 m2;
• at least five traders or service providers operate in its separate trading venues;
• grocery stores do not occupy more than 30% of the total sales area.

The support is available to an entrepreneur who, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, has a total drop in rentals turnover of at least 30% in a given sports centre in one of the following periods:

• comparing the rentals turnover of December 2020 and January, February, March 2021 with the rentals turnover respective months of 2018 and 2019, or 2019 and 2020;
• comparing the rentals turnover for January and February 2021 with the rentals turnover for November and December 2020.
• comparing the rentals turnover for January, February, March, April 2021 with the rentals turnover for September, October, November and December 2020.

The support is one-time payment - €15 for each square meter of the total area indicated in the centre cadastral survey file, except for parking lots, the total amount of support not exceeding the amount of turnover decrease.

The state budget funding available under the support measure is €20 million.

Use of measure

24 shopping centres have applied for the support in total amount of €9.8 million.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Sector specific set of companies	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

No involvement.

Views and reactions

Social partners have not expressed views on the measure.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 11 May 2021: Atbalsts tirdzniecības centriem Covid-19 krīzes seku pārvarēšanai (www.liaa.gov.lv)
• 25 May 2021: Noteikumi par atbalstu Covid-19 krīzes skartajiem tirdzniecības centriem (likumi.lv)
• 05 July 2021: 109 tirdzniecības un sporta centri pieteikušies valsts atbalstam 16,7 miljonu eiro apmērā (www.lsm.lv)