Small businesses across the world are finding it difficult -- if not impossible -- to make their monthly rent payments.
The economic shutdowns and on-again-off-again re-openings have made it hard for business owners to cover their rent, which can sometimes be their largest expense.
That has created an uncomfortable tension and interdependency with the often small, independent landlords or small real estate firms from which they rent. Those landlords, after all, have their own expenses and taxes to pay.
Example: Mr. Amit Bhatrani, who owns a lifestyle boutique store in a high-end shopping district, is one year into a 10-year lease, which costs him Rs16,000 a month. Amit said he has a good relationship with his landlord, who has told him to pay what he can for now and they'd figure out how to make up the difference later. But, in April and May, he couldn't afford to pay anything.
Amit was able to pay two-quarters of his rent for June and July -- thanks to money from his loan programe and some revenue from his store's online site. Going forward, though, he doesn't know how much he'll be able to pay, especially given the current situation may soon re-impose stay-at-home orders.
With so much beyond his control, he, like a lot of small business owners, wonders how much he should have to pony up. "Should we be responsible for rent when we're forced to close by the government? Should it be on us or on the landlord? It's nobody's fault but whose responsibility is it?"
#smallbusiness
#reimpose
#rent
Warm Regards,
JM
Please excuse the brevity and grammatical errors, if any!
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