On the whole, it can be said that commercial landlords have had a difficult year. A rising number of high-street shops have entered administration and some landlords have experienced rent arrears.
A growing number of landlords are now relying on their unoccupied property insurance to get them through financially while they look for another tenant. With this in mind, the chief executive of a town business group has said that landlords and letting agents can do more to find new inhabitants.
More effort
Mark Cordell from Bid4Bury has ordered Edmundsbury Borough Council to meet with landlords within the community in order to persuade them to fill their empty commercial properties. Mr Cordell highlighted one particular unit that has been empty for over 12 months. He said that the unit, ‘costs £48,000 a year in rent and £28,000 in business rates. You have to be making at least £100, 000 before you can make that work.’[1]
Cordell says that figures such as these suggest that commercial landlords, ‘need a reality check.’ He goes on to say, ‘the council, the landlords and the agents need to work harder to get these units back in use. At the moment there seems to be a policy of let’s sit and hope for the best. I am not comfortable doing that.’
Argument
Commercial landlords however can argue that by reducing their rent prices, they will lose a substantial part of their income. With unoccupied property insurance covering void periods, some landlords feel that there is no reason to actively seek new buyers.
Cordell argues that large empty commercial properties are an eyesore and makes towns unattractive to suitors and warns the situation can easily get worse. He said that, ‘they(visitors) feel that part of the town is run down. It then becomes difficult to attract new tenants here. That is our Achilles heel.’[1]
Solutions
Mr Cordell said that a possible solution could be for commercial landlords to let out their unoccupied properties for a short-term basis, suggesting they become pop-up shops. This, Cordell believes, will generate landlords some income, improve the image of a town and defy the risk of defaults on long-term arrangements. In addition, he says that shops should consider doing more themselves, like staying open later in the evenings or opening later on Sundays
[1] http://www.justlandlords.co.uk/news/Landlords-urged-to-find-new-Tenants-for-Empty-Shops-1625.html