The Restaurants Association of Ireland has called for urgent government action to deal with greed driven commercial landlords, who are continuing to charge their tenant businesses full rent rates during the current pandemic and economic crisis. Adrian Cummins, CEO of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, said: “We are calling on the government to issue a code of practice and introduce “Fast Track” arbitration service to help with a speedy resolution of disputes between restaurants / hospitality businesses and landlords. It’s obvious that greedy landlords are not playing their part in the pandemic which is causing huge distress for business owners especially restaurant owners.” These high rents are placing hundreds of businesses and thousands of jobs at risk across the island of Ireland. Immediate government action is needed, and landlords need to reduce their commercial rents in line with business turnover to support struggling restaurants and cafés.
According to Economist Jim Power’s Report “Restaurant Recovery Plan”, a scheme to reduce the burden of commercial rents is essential from the perspective of restaurant owners and landlords. The report states that the accommodation and food services sector has been seriously damaged by the COVID 19 crisis and failure to act now will have dire consequences for the economy. Power Report further states that rents represent a significant fixed cost and should be included in a package of support measures covering all occupancy costs. The report recommends a 50% commercial rent grant during periods when restaurant turnover is down 50-80%. The hospitality sector did not receive any commercial rent grants or support in the recently announced July Stimulus Package. Comments are closed.
|
Archives
March 2024
|