Yahoo Finance Shortfall of over £5bn in rent collected on commercial properties
A number of commerical property landlords have seen rental income fall during the pandemic
(Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)Landlords experienced a shortfall of over £5 billion in rent collected on commercial properties over the first 12 months of the pandemic, figures showed on Friday.
The rental income shortfall reached £5.34 billion Remit Consulting said. It looked at property types such as shops, offices, restaurants and warehouses.
Much of the hit is likely to have come from the high street retail and hospitality sectors which have been hammered by lockdowns at various points since March 2020. That has impacted the ability of some firms to pay rent.
A moratorium on business evictions was introduced last year to help firms ride out the virus crisis. It has been extended at various points.
Some tenants have agreed rent holidays or deferrals with landlords during the pandemic, although some building owners have claimed there are some occupiers refusing to pay that are big, profitable companies wrongly taking advantage of the crisis.
Looking at recent figures, Steph Yates, a senior consultant at Remit Consulting, said: “Over the 90 days of the December quarter, the shortfall experienced by investors, many of which are pension funds, insurers and other institutions totalled over £1.1 billion with 78.6% of the rents due collected overall.”
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