Under the current revised program, we stand ready to purchase up to $150 billion of insured mortgages. We are also prepared to expand the issuance of conventional securitization programs, as needed.
In addition, we acted quickly to help Canadians who are having difficulty paying their mortgages or rent due to income loss because of COVID-19. In co-ordination with private mortgage insurers, we are offering temporary deferral of mortgage payments for up to six months. We estimate that 12 per cent of mortgage holders have elected to defer payments so far, and that figure could reach nearly 20 per cent by September.
The same mortgage deferral relief is available to our multi-unit clients in order to facilitate rent relief for their lower-income tenants. And we have taken steps to ensure that non-profit and co-operative housing providers continue to receive federal rent subsidies for low-income tenants, even if their current agreements with us have expired. In both cases, we have insisted that recipients of federal support refrain from evictions during the crisis.
Most recently, the Prime Minister announced that CMHC will administer the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance for small businesses. The program will lower rent by 75 per cent for small businesses affected by COVID-19. While the program is not housing related, we are pleased to use our real estate expertise to help struggling entrepreneurs.
However, as the Committee is no doubt aware, almost everything we have done in response to the crisis involves borrowing. Just as governments are taking on more debt to finance the COVID-19 response, mortgage deferrals are adding to already historic levels of household indebtedness.