SME Tenants Band Together to Demand for Better Terms from Big Landlords

The Covid-19 hasn’t just destroyed our social lives.

It has also affected the relationship between many SME businesses and some ‘big’ landlords.

SME Tenants Band Together to Demand Better Terms from Big Landlords

On 22 May, it was reported that a group of tenants have banded together to fight off “unfair terms” by the “cartel” of landlords.

They claimed that they are representing about 10,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Landlords Are Slow In Passing On Benefits

The Fair Tenancy Framework Industry Committee (FTFIC) was formed with representation from:

• Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (ASME)
• Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS)
• Singapore Retailers Association (SRA)
• the Singapore Tenants United for Fairness (SGTUFF)
• and the SME Committee (SBF SMEC) of the Singapore Business Federation

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The chairman of the newly-formed grouping, Kurt Wee, said that Covid-19 has shown the “domination position” of landlords.

“When times are well, landlords enjoyed good income.”

Now that times are bad, the landlords started acting like “cartels”.

The committee accuses the landlords of being slow in passing on the rebates given by the government.

Some allegedly did not even pass it on.

Landlords Supposed To Pass It On

Landlords are required to pass on the property tax rebates in a “timely” manner.

This was said by Mr Lawrence Wong back on 7 Apr when he introduces new legislation to ensure that support measures are reaching the right people.

Under the legislation, the landlords are required to pass on the rebates in the form of rental reduction or monetary payment “in a timely manner” and “without additional conditions”.

Simply put, the landlords cannot give you a 50% discount at the end of 2020, a time when your business no longer exists.

Nor can they say they’ll give you 50% off now provided you agree that your rent next year will be 50% more.

Failure to do so is an offence.

To be fair, though, not all landlords are bad.

There are landlords who did give back to their tenants, like Suntec City who practically waived off 3-months’ rental for its tenants (1 month fully paid for by Suntec City) and City Developments for one and a half months.

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