Landlords in central Maitland should do whatever they can to help their tenants during difficult times.
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That’s the opinion of John Lane, who owns a High Street building inside the construction zone of Maitland City Council’s multi-million dollar mall revamp.
Mr Lane told his two tenants this week that they would not have to pay rent this month after he realised how difficult work at The Levee had made it for businesses to attract customers.
“I was over there on Monday and I thought it looked like a war zone,” he said.
“As landlords, we need to be conscious of the difficulties facing our tenants.”
Mr Lane said work on the mall had begun during an already tough economic climate for small businesses in regional Australia.
“I would encourage other landlords to support their tenants as much as they can,” he said.
“If that means a rent reduction then that’s fine. If it means support in another way, that’s fine too.”
Part of the problem, Mr Lane said, was that workplace health and safety laws required fencing around all construction areas.
He said this made the shopping precinct look like a no-go zone for potential customers, despite a council assurance that all businesses would remain accessible during construction.
But Mr Lane applauded council for introducing car and voucher give-aways to help struggling businesses.
“If we don’t look after them [mall businesses], they are going to close up and go,” he said.
Retro Espresso owner Kandie Bond, one of Mr Lane’s tenants, said her landlord’s gesture would save her $1833.33 this month.
She said Mr Lane had also waived a scheduled rise in rent for the premises in August.
He allowed her to rent on a monthly basis and did not impose a year-long lease when her original tenancy agreement expired.
“He’s fabulous,” Ms Bond said.
“I was just getting further and further behind. I only had enough savings to last until the end of October, now I can hold off a bit longer.”
Work on stage one of The Levee began in July.
Stage one is expected to be complete early next year.
MORE ON THE LEVEE: Shoppers returning; Levee traders need your support now