SINGAPORE, Sept 4 — More than 6,800 businesses and individuals have sought temporary relief under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act since it was introduced in April this year. These are people who are unable to perform their contractual obligations because of the pandemic.

This was revealed by the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) after Edwin Tong, Second Minister for Law, tabled a second set of proposed amendments to the Act in Parliament yesterday. The changes will be debated today.

The Act went through its first round of amendments in June to provide a rental relief framework for small- and medium-sized enterprises and enhance the relief available for businesses, organisations and individuals affected by Covid-19.  

The latest rounds of amendments, if passed, will lead to three more changes.

The first will be an expansion of powers for rental relief assessors.

Rental relief assessors are appointed by the MinLaw to deal with disputes under the framework, such as when a landlord and tenant are unable to reach an agreement with each other on issues such as rental waivers. 

With the latest proposed amendments, these assessors would be able to determine the amount of rent to be waived under the framework when there are unresolved disputes, MinLaw said.

The decision will be based, among other things, on the amount of maintenance and service charges involved, or the amount that can be offset by the aid provided by the landlord earlier. 

The second amendment will see enhancements to a section of the law, called Part 8, which is not yet in force. This section will provide a mechanism for parties to certain types of contracts to obtain relief if they are affected by breaches or delays in construction, supply or related contracts. 

The enhancements will ensure that the different dispute resolution mechanisms interact smoothly once Part 8 is in force. 

The final amendment to the Act will be on alternative meeting arrangements. 

MinLaw said that it has received feedback from some businesses and individuals saying that they would like to know for sure how long alternative meeting arrangements will last, because they have to plan for their meetings months in advance.

The amendments to the Act, the ministry said, will allow alternative meeting arrangements to remain in force, if necessary, to prevent the spread of Covid-19, regardless of whether safe distancing regulations change or stop.

The current orders prescribing alternative meeting arrangements expire on September 30. 

MinLaw said that further details of these three amendments are still being worked out and will be announced separately. 

If the amendments are passed in parliament, the ministry aims for them to take effect before the end of this month. — TODAY