Andalucia announces grants to cover rental costs for self-employed workers affected by COVID-19

THE Junta has announced economic assistance to cover rental costs for self-employed workers whose business has been affected by COVID-19.

It is expected to benefit some 9,400 self-employed workers, with nightclub owners and child care businesses being the principal recipients of the aid.

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With an initial budget of €9 million, self-employed workers will be able to benefit from an economic assistance of €900 to €1,200 to cover the rental costs of their businesses.

The announcement was made by the Vice-President of the Government, Juan Marin, at a press conference held with Junta President, Juanma Moreno.

Marin said that this aid is intended for ‘self-employed workers who carry out their business activity in a rented establishment in Andalucia’ and who have been particularly affected by the serious economic consequences generated by the pandemic.

“Some of these businesses have not even had the opportunity to open during all these months,” he said.

Principal eligibility criteria:

• The beneficiaries of the aid must be self-employed with a registered office in Andalucia.
• Registered with the Social Security Scheme for the activity on March 14, when the state of alarm was declared.
• Maintain the activity for four months from the date of the application.

Rentals that form part of the applicant’s habitual residence are excluded.

Applications can only be processed electronically.

The deadline for submitting applications will be 20 working days from the publication in BOJA.

According to the latest data available in August, Andalucia has 544,065 self-employed workers affiliated to the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) and is the second region in terms of the number of self-employed workers, surpassed only by Catalunya.

Despite the pandemic, it has accumulated a growth of 8,446 self-employed workers affiliated to RETA in the last year.