Countless jobs have been lost in the retail sector because of upward-only rent reviews which are forcing retailers, in a time of economic crisis, to pay ever higher rents to landlords.
This is the view of Labour general election candidate Derek Nolan. He has described upward only rents as a “penal rent, pushing retail outlets over the edge, forcing them to shut, at the cost of significant numbers of jobs in Galway city and county”.
Cllr Nolan said a study by Retail Excellence Ireland showed that more than 400 stores nationally will have closed during January.
“This highlights the urgent need to ban once and for all, upward-only rent reviews in the retail sector,” he said. “Retailers in Galway tell me that property bubble-era retail rents are no longer sustainable in an industry that is struggling for survival.”
He said that many shops have reduced opening hours and put staff on shorter working weeks in a bid to survive, “with landlords refusing to renegotiate exorbitant rents”.
The Labour party is calling for upward-only rent reviews to be “completely outlawed”.
“We will be including proposals in our Election Manifesto,” he said, “to reintroduce legislation that will bring an end to the practice.”
