The $748-billion, bipartisan Emergency COVID Relief Act of 2020 contains important provisions for commercial real estate and multifamily finance, the CRE Finance Council said Monday evening. However, it also contains some provisions that CREFC described as “challenges.”

Among the key provisions are the following:
 
• Extension of all unemployment assistance for 16 weeks, with supplemental $300 per week;
• A $300-billion second round of the Paycheck Protection Program, limited to small businesses with 300 or fewer employees that have sustained a 30% revenue loss in any quarter of 2020. $300 billion for PPP
• $25 billion for emergency rental assistance;
• $12 billion in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDI) to help low-income and minority communities respond to this unprecedented economic downturn; and
• $45 billion in emergency funding for the transportation sector.

On the “challenges” side of the ledger are extensions to the federal eviction moratorium to Jan. 31, 2021 and the lack of an extension of TDR relief. CREFC and its industry partners continue to urge Congress to extend the CARES Act TDR relief.

“It is important to note, that if a deal is struck between Congressional leaders, that agreement may be different than the text of this legislation,” according to CREFC. “It is unclear whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell supports this legislation, which is critical as he is the only person who can bring a bill to the Senate floor.”

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