Landlords urged to limit retail rents by turnover

This hopes to avoid permanent store closures as the pandemic hit stores’ sales.

The Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) is urging landlords to implement a rental payment structure based strictly on the gross turnover (GTO) for six months as the social distancing measures caused a loss in sales for tenants, according to an appeal letter.

In the hopes of avoiding massive permanent store closures and loss of jobs within the next three months, the association seeks for rents to be capped at no more than 15% of each tenant’s GTO or a 50% reduction in base rent, whichever is lower.

It is also calling landlords to allow retail businesses to exit before their lease expiration, if they cannot sustain anymore, without losing their security deposits or risk lawsuits.

SRA noted that almost all frontline businesses have been expecting a massive decline in average daily sales vs. pre-COVID-19 as the nature of the disease requires tightening social distancing measures.

"With yesterday's government advice of safe distancing and staying at home (heading to malls for essentials like food only), the sales of the majority of the retail stores will be equivalent to zero sales, similar to a lockdown situation," said SRA’s president R Dhinakaran.