Restaurant Association of S’pore ‘Disappointed’ in Landlords For Delaying Rental Rebates

By
Shawn Ambrose
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It’s not a great time to be a business owner.

With the Covid-19 outbreak, many F&B establishments have seen a drop in clientele in the past two months, with some expecting their revenue to fall by as much as 80 per cent in the next few months.

That’s why when several landlords in the commercial sector publicly announced various relief packages more than a month ago, many food and beverage (F&B) outlets were pleased to have the support.

Unfortunately, it still hasn’t come for many.

Restaurant Association of S’pore ‘Disappointed’ in Landlords For Delaying Rental Rebates

In a media statement on Monday, the Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) said that many landlords have been “slow to react to the appeals of their F&B tenants“.

A significant number of food and beverage (F&B) outlets have yet to receive confirmation of rental rebates.

Several landlords announced support measures a month ago in response to the Covid-19 outbreak which affected many F&B establishments.

These measures include rental rebates and shorter operating hours.

For example, Changi Airport has given its retail, F&B and service outlets a 50 per cent rental rebate for six months, starting in February.

Other landlords have yet to follow through on their promises, however.

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CapitaLand

In its statement, the RAS called out landlord CapitaLand in particular for promising rental rebates of 50 per cent for its restaurant tenants but offering only 10 to 15 per cent to those in urban malls.

RAS claims that no rental rebates have been granted to CapitaLand’s suburban malls.

The executive director of RAS, Edwin Fong, said: “We are deeply disappointed in the landlords’ lack of follow-through in spite of public announcements of support for the industry during this crisis.”

“Many of the F&B outlets, especially those run by smaller operators, have an urgent need for assistance to alleviate their cash-flow situation and mitigate the uncertainties they face in the current climate brought on by Covid-19”, he added.

Fong, however, remains hopeful that they’ll follow through on their promises and roll out their rental rebates.

“The landlords need to fulfil their role as partners in helping the F&B industry save jobs and secure the livelihood of our employees”, he said.

CapitaLand’s Response

In response, CapitaLand president for Singapore and international, Mr Jason Leow said that it was “unfortunate that the entire relief package has not been fully comprehended by RAS, despite our ongoing engagements.”

He added that the promised rental relief will be disbursed to tenants in a targeted manner since the Covid-19 outbreak has affected different malls in varying degrees.

This response comes a week after CapitaLand said it would offer various forms of support including flexible rental payments and a “one-time rental rebate of up to half-a-month for eligible tenants”.

In addition, they will also be giving each tenant one month’s worth of their security deposit in March.

Mr Leow said that they are still communicating with individual tenants about their relief packages.

“As an interim relief, we have granted rental rebates of 20 per cent to 30 per cent over two months to eligible tenants in our downtown malls, which have been more affected”, he said.

Capitaland aims to inform all tenants of their respective rental relief packages by the end of March.

But whether it actually happens remains to be seen.

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]