Businesses can apply for help with overdue rent from Clark County

Clark County is accepting applications for two small-business grant programs to help with overdue rent or health-and-safety retrofits.

The rental assistance program will provide up to $10,000 for past-due rent, the county said Tuesday, noting that Gov. Steve Sisolak’s moratorium on commercial-property evictions expired this month and officials “expect some businesses could be on the verge of eviction.”

The other grant will reimburse businesses up to $5,000 for costs such as buying personal protective equipment for employees or installing no-touch doors, the county said.

Applications must be submitted online and are due Aug. 4.

The county is setting aside about $8 million for the grants, but that could change, county spokesman Dan Kulin said.

The grants come as Southern Nevada’s tourism-dependent economy still reels from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

Las Vegas’ unemployment rate, just 3.9 percent in February, reached 34 percent in April after Sisolak ordered casinos and other Nevada businesses closed to help contain the virus’ spread.

The valley’s jobless rate has come down as casinos and other businesses reopened the past few months, but it remains high. Last month, the local unemployment rate was 18 percent, state data shows.

All told, 66 percent of Southern Nevada businesses now expect profits to fall this year compared with 2019. Before the pandemic, 69 percent had expected earnings to rise this year, according to a recent survey by Las Vegas consulting firm Applied Analysis.

Among businesses that rent their locations, 82.5 percent of respondents said they are paying their rent in full.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.