Regarding a query as to whether an amount paid by a barber or hairdresser (“Stylist”) as “chair rent” to the owner of an establishment (“Salon”) may be claimed as a “qualifying rent expense” for Canada emergency rent subsidy (“CERS”), CRA first indicated that the term “chair rent” may “refer to an amount paid for the use of, or right to use, a portion of the Salon,” and then stated:
Where an amount paid by a Stylist (who is an eligible entity) as “chair rent” is rent for the use of, or right to use, an area within the Salon that is real or immovable property such that it is capable of being a qualifying property, it may be a qualifying rent expense for the Stylist, provided all of the conditions in the definition of qualifying rent expense are met. This is a question of fact … .
Similarly, in other situations where an eligible entity pays an amount that is rent for the use of, or the right to use, an area or space that is a portion of a larger area, the amount paid by the eligible entity as rent may be a qualifying rent expense … .