By Oregon Small Business Association

Business owners who have fallen behind on their rent payments during the coronavirus pandemic may receive help from Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency, which is managing the $100 million set aside by state lawmakers for rent relief.

But receiving the money may take four to six weeks as the agency builds a program to distribute the money, according to the Portland Business Journal.

Business owners will need to apply for the funding allocated Jan. 8 by the Legislature’s joint emergency board. It may be set up as a grant to pay delinquent lease payments for small businesses falling behind because of COVID-19. Businesses might receive $100,000 or $200,000, perhaps distributed by lottery.

A state moratorium preventing eviction of delinquent residential and commercial tenants expired at the end of 2020. In December, Oregon legislators provided $200 million in December to help residents and landlords cover their rents.