LANDLORDS WILL KILL OUR ECONOMY
Ian Whitworth
Co-founder Scene Change | Undisruptable book out now from Penguin Random House
Hello governments. I have a Covid 19 policy suggestion that might help save a large chunk of our economy.
THE HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS
Right now a select group of businesses have been chosen to go from regular trading to zero revenue in a week. My own sector, events, is literally illegal. Bars, restaurants, lots of others are in the same position or soon will be. So we’re bleeding cash trying to salvage anything from the wreckage.
My own business is spending every last cent of our cash to keep our 60-odd staff employed in some way even though we're not allowed to do what we do. Personally, I'll make zero income for the next year.
Meanwhile landlords are going: sorry but we have a contract and our return on investment must not be affected in any way. Some of our landlords have agreed to push a percentage of our rent back to later in the year, but it still has to be paid back. So we’ll pay double rent as we emerge into what will be a catastrophic recession.
Why should landlords be a protected species while actual risk takers go to the wall?
Landlords don’t employ anyone. Their benefit to society is frankly pretty marginal.
BAN RENT FOR COVID-AFFECTED BUSINESSES
If your business is forced to stop trading for the obvious good of society, why should landlords get away scot-free?
I suggest we need legislation to ban rents for Covid-affected businesses.
If they make nothing for six months, they’re still doing much better than businesses like ours, which are making massive losses.
If they have loans over that building, they can take it up with the bank like everyone else with a now-unsupportable loan. And the government can consider chipping in to cover part of that. Of the 20 or so commercial landlords I’ve dealt with over the course of our business, almost all are people who bought the building in 1986 for about what the monthly rent is now. It's pure profit for them.
Sorry to sound like an absolute communist, but they can afford it and their failure to pitch in with the rest of us to solve this health crisis is unacceptable. Time to force their hand, governments.
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I hate to be 'share if you agree' guy but if you do agree, pass this on to your local MP. They're considering this stuff right now and our industries are pretty under-represented.
If your own business is working through this I wrote this story earlier in the week, a lot of SME people have said has helped them - Covid 19: Nine Tips For Business Survival
Founder & CEO | Committed Outsourcing | Cost Optimisation Expert | Detailed Documentation and SOP's
3 å¹´Ian, thanks for sharing this.
Designer ? Art Director ? Photographer
4 å¹´Clearly Mr Whitworth isn't a landlord- he would change his tune very quickly. Notice how businesses and employers all receive a helping hand from the govt in order to get through this period. I rely on my sole small commercial property to support myself so abolishing rent leaves me with no income and certainly I don't have the small luxury of a handout from the government. So we're not all enjoying uninterrupted ROI while everyone is shut down. A ridiculous generalisation.
It's funny - people were always laughing when I said I wanted to keep my boat as a way out in a crisis. Looks like I'm the only one who has thought of a Plan B. Now - see, this country has been spoiled for far too long, and people live day by day, getting into dept and don't ever plan. Planning ahead should become part of our education in school - please people, think ahead ?????? But now we need the government to bail us out, and that big time, because even I'm a good planner, I haven't planned for a situation like this either ??????
Managing Director at Tresola Legal
4 å¹´The other species in this are property managers who are stonewalling tenant's requests for rent relief. Their income is from commission from rent and are refusing to pass on requests for rent relief in fear of their own income erosion. I had one client get told by a property manager who was refusing to pass on the rent relief request "...just bunker down mate..."!!