The coronavirus outbreak has meant that thousands of businesses are finding it more difficult than usual to pay their overheads. Especially challenging is the fact that rent has proven to be a sizeable, yet temporarily unnecessary, expense over the past few months as many businesses were closed or forced to operate from home.
Given this, here are the important points Corelco consider before speaking to a landlord about altering a rent agreement:
• Understanding the landlord’s situation
The priorities of landlords can depend on their investors and how they wish to see their money. Some would prioritise getting their money on time and accepting a discount, while others would prioritise receiving the full amount of rent but will accept a deferral of payment. Landlords whose biggest concern is keeping tenants in their properties, might be the most flexible. Being able to determine the priorities of whoever owns the property is your best bet in assessing how flexible they might be.
• Propose a mutually beneficial solution
If you are in a situation where you know that you will be struggling to pay your rent in the near future, contact Corelco early on to explain your situation and propose solutions, rather than simply missing the payment.
When deciding upon our approach, there are ways we make it as appealing and as effective as possible:
• Make it mutually beneficial
This means that both the risk and the reward are shared by you and your landlord. For example, if you wish to defer your rent payment, you could offer interest on what you eventually pay.
• Provide long-term security
Extending your lease, for example, will encourage landlords whose priority is to have the space filled to work with you rather than against you. Another option would be to alter your contract so that there are fewer legal reasons for you to be able to end your lease early. This doesn’t cost you more, but provides much needed security to a landlord.
• Force negotiations
If you suspect that it is currently more difficult for your landlord to enforce legal obligations, for example due to many courts being closed, then the value of their “best alternative to negotiated agreement” is reduced, which can benefit our negotiations greatly.
Speaking to Corelco about how best to diminish this value as much as possible will ensure that you are in the optimum negotiating position.
Call Corelco on 0203 773 1417
