Member Article

High Street “must be more like My Street”

Commercial landlords must behave more like residential landlords if the British High Street is to survive – that’s the view of one property expert in the week four more major retailers went into administration

Internacionale, ModelZone, Dwell and Ark all filed notice to appoint administrators on Tuesday, putting 2000 jobs at risk – yet another setback for the High Street which has already seen major brands like HMV, Blockbuster and Jessops collapse this year.

The latest administrations came within hours of the quarterly “Rent Day”, which sees businesses pay their landlords rent for the next three months, with analysts believing an inability to pay rent on their premises was the final straw for struggling businesses.

Ajay Jagota of KIS Lettings, who manage properties for 700 landlords from branches in Sunderland, South Shields, North Shields and Welwyn Garden City, believes the only way the High Street can survivein the current climate is if landlords take a more pro-active and enlightened approach to typical in the private rented sector.

He said: “Many commercial landlords have already taken the common sense step of asking for rent to be paid monthly instead of quarterly like they would if they were renting out a home. If it is going to survive threats like the current economic climate and the internet, the High Street needs to be more like My Street and behave more like the private rented sector in other ways too.

“Although they don’t enjoy the best press coverage, no landlord wants to throw out a tenant - not least as empty properties means empty pockets.

“If they are aware their tenant is struggling to make ends meet, any responsible and sensible landlords will sit down with them and try to come to an arrangement which will give them the time they need to get a grip on their finances, instead of just showing them the door. Deferred or even reduced rents are much more preferable to empty homes, so surely they are preferable to empty shops too?

“That said, a lot of residential landlords will look on with envy at the sight of tenants willingly vacating properties they can no longer afford to rent.

“In the residential world there is no such obligation – moral or otherwise – for tenants to do this, leaving already out of pocket landlords with no choice but to go through the stress and expense of a lengthy legal process.

“At KIS we’ve taken steps to minimise this with our pioneering landlord insurance product which covers the cost of eviction. Nonetheless, this is one area at least where the High Street landlord has it easier than his residential cousin and it would perhaps be nice to see this anomaly amended”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ajay Jagota .