RAS Calls On Government To Impose Mandatory Rental Rebates For Eateries
With dine-in measures tightened once again, the Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) has called on the Government to mandate rental rebates for struggling eateries.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday (20 Jul), the RAS shared that F&B operators island-wide have been operating at 40% capacity for the past 1.5 years.
As a result of this, they are suffering in unprecedented ways and many operators are struggling.
Therefore, they’ve called for landlords to assist them through voluntary rebates that are proportionate to the drops in revenue.
Landlords have yet to offer rebates beyond what is required
According to the RAS, landlords have only been giving out Government-mandated rebates from 2020.
These landlords have allegedly yet to offer rebates beyond what the Government has given to tenants in Government-owned properties. This includes the periods of Phases 2 & 3 (Heightened Alert).
With dining-in restrictions imposed again, they have called for the need for affirmative action by the Government.
RAS also notes the record earnings announced by various Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in recent months, which comes as no surprise to them. They have attributed the record earnings to the rental income which is “spinning freely” and “hardly remitted”.
RAS details request for rebates
The RAS has detailed their requests for mandated rebates from landlords. The 3 points are as follows :
1. Rental rebates are to be given voluntarily without the tenants asking for it
2. Rental rebates to be given in proportion to drop in revenues, excluding revenue from deliveries
3. Landlords should not be collecting 100% rental fees when their tenants are unable to operate as contracted
They end the post with signatures from the RAS management committee.
Hopeful for a solution
With many sectors of Singapore struggling with the sudden measurements, we empathise with eatery owners who are struggling to navigate through it all.
We hope that the authorities can look into this and come up with a solution that satisfies all parties.
It would be a shame to see some of our favourite eateries disappear during this difficult period.
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Featured image adapted from Choo Yut Shing on Flickr.
