It is no surprise that those leasing commercial properties have been struggling in the past year with the number of national lockdowns and other restrictions we’ve experienced in a bid to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, Fashion United recently shared figures produced by Re-Leased, which found that landlords collected just 21 per cent of the commercial rents due on March quarter day this year.
The news provider noted that this shows a decline over the previous two quarters, indicating that this third national lockdown is starting to have a greater impact.
This data came from data collected across more than 10,000 commercial properties and 35,000 leases. CEO of Re-Leased Tom Wallace pointed out that rent collection remains lower than pre-pandemic levels and cautioned that there is still a long way to go until the sector is operating as it was before.
“The burden of three national lockdowns and other social restrictions has placed substantial pressure on occupiers and landlords, many of who are now navigating dire financial circumstances,” he asserted.
Mr Wallace’s warning comes after the British Property Federation (BPF) recently estimated that commercial property landlords could face arrears of as much as £7 billion due to the impact of the pandemic and the continued ban on the eviction of commercial tenants, which is currently due to be in place until the end of June 2021.
The BPF also revealed that the vast majority of unpaid rent is from businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors, which are among those that have been hardest hit by the pandemic and various lockdowns.
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