no help for landlords

annapearce

I pay tax via an accountant on self assessment and have done since 2017, I have 5 commercial shops which I rent out ,my accountant has informed me I am not entitled to any financial support from the government as I don’t fit into PAYE or Self Employed categories, please see his response to me : 
Rental income is a little strange in the taxation market as it is deemed not to be employment or self employment. It currently falls into a third category of other income which unfortunately is not covered by anything that the government is currently looking at.
Is there anything I can do or do you think the government will add this category to the bailout , obviously the shops are closed down now as they are deemed as non essential and the tenants are requesting rent assistance which if I have no other income I really can’t afford to give but then risk them walking away from their leases. 
I can’t claim Universal Credit as I have savings over £16,000 ( although this won’t last long by the look of it !)

Galloglass

You can apply for a Business Continuity Loan to cover the missing working capital. 

You can claim UC but you'll get zero until your savings reduce. Do you have debts which you need to pay off using the savings?

Jeremy535897

The properties will be capital for UC so there is no hope of a claim. You are in a very difficult situation, because as you say your tenants will be asking for a rent reduction. However the tenants are probably far better off, in that they are more likely to get business interruption loans, they may get a self employment grant or use the job retention scheme, and they may qualify for the small business grant of £10,000 if they pay little or no rates due to SBRR/RRR. Perhaps you should point that they are in a far better position than you.
It may be that you will simply have to borrow in the short term secured against one or more of the properties if you run short of cash. The rules on deductibility of interest from rents are not helpful.