Landlords cutting rent for troubled businesses
Monday April 12 2010
LANDLORDS are being "very" or "somewhat" flexible in allowing under-pressure tenants to renegotiate their leases on commercial properties, a new survey claims.
Despite retailers repeatedly saying that businesses are locked into long-term leases which prohibit reductions, the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute (IAVI) claims that 95pc of respondents said owners were flexible when negotiating annual rents.
Clauses
The survey found that in 75 cases, rents fell by between 10-20pc, while in 69 cases rents fell by between 21-30pc.
The findings come just four months after Justice Minister Dermot Ahern banned upward-only rent review clauses in business leases, a move criticised by the IAVI which accused the Government of undermining any recovery in the property market.
IAVI president Aine Myler said the survey showed that flexibility was required in the current market.
"The survey suggests the majority of respondents reported that in their experience over the past 12 months, landlords were either very flexible or somewhat flexible in their approach to retail rent renegotiations," she said.
- Paul Melia
Irish Independent
