The premises leasing landscape is very different from two and a half years ago. Tenants have endured repeated lockdowns, global paranoia, anxiety and depression, economic euphoria over soaring property and stock market values. They’ve also experienced e-spending with confidence fueled by ultra-low interest rates and governments pouring stimulus funds into pockets, dramatic work-at-home demographic shifts, and bewildering e-communication advances.

Society has changed in many ways over the past few years in response to digital communication and the pandemic. Some changes are temporary, other changes are permanent. Consumer buying habits have changed with a significant shift to on-line marketing and purchasing at the expense of direct retail shopping, resulting in less physical shopping activity and less demand for retail rental premises. Companies are finding it’s unfeasible to reach previous staffing levels with reduced sales volumes and electronic commerce resulting in reduced employment opportunities.

As the country re-opens and emerges from the covid-social distancing funk, what are tenants doing? Many tenants are badly damaged by the impaired social distancing economy.

Having a physical location to operate your business is the norm in today’s business environment. Speaking from a historical perspective, it was the only way to get your services or products to the customers. 100 years ago, farmers would attend farmer’s markets, lawyers had high profile office space and dentists had clinics to see patients. Fast forward into current times and people have not changed much, however, the social climate we live in is dramatically different that 100 years ago.

Now is a great time to be thinking about your lease, location, building type as you reposition your business to move forward from the effects of COVID-19. You might not be ready to make a move just yet, but opportunities are becoming available that the pre-COVID market did not produce including lower rents and maybe a better location!

We just passed over the continental divide moving from the landlord friendly market to the tenant friendly market. This tenancy market change is the economic effect of the social distancing shutdown response to the pandemic.

Will large landlords including REITS, help their tenants with rent relief? The federal government has unveiled a new financial relief program that is designed for large landlords including Real Estate Income Trust(REITS). It is an interest-bearing loan to large businesses who have been affected by COVID 19.

As realty lease consultants with over 75 combined years of experience, we have a front row-centre view of how the pandemic is affecting leases and tenancies.

Having a hard time paying rent on your commercial space because of the COVID-19 lock-down? Is your Landlord allowing you to stave off rent payments? How are you going to pay the deferred rent back to the Landlord when the quarantine period is up? There are lots of remedies.

Your landlord will not call you and offer to reduce your rent. Here are five key “when and how” rent saving opportunities every tenant should be aware of. Covid – 19

On Friday, another rent relief package was announced. This package funds tenants rents through landlords. Under the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CE-CRA) program, federal and provincial governments will cover half of a small business tenants’ rent for April, May and June, while asking landlords to cover one-quarter of the cost. Tenants pay one-quarter of the rent.