Updated 17.30
A RETAILERS’ ORGANISATION has replaced a well-known Grafton Street banner which called for lower rents with a direct attack on government inaction.
Retail Excellence Ireland today unveiled the new building-sized banner above Korky’s shoe shop, which highlights a Fine Gael election pledge to end the controversial practice of upward-only rent reviews. It quotes the party’s pre-election manifesto, which stated: “We will pass legislation to give all tenants the right to have their commercial rents reviewed in 2011 irrespective of any upward-only or other review clauses.”
The banner replaces a previous one reading “High rents are killing our jobs”, which had become a landmark in Dublin city centre.
David Fitzsimons, chief executive of REI, said the organisation wanted to make clear that they “expect progress” on the issue. He said upward-only rent clauses “have crippled retailers in the midst of this unprecedented economic crisis where we are seeing one shop after another closing down, and job after job lost every day of the week”.
All we want is a level playing field and rents that are based on real market conditions. We welcome Minister Shatter’s commitment to introduce this legislation which must be robust and capable of unravelling the 240 per cent increase that was inflicted on tenants from 2000 to 2007.
The organisation added that retail sales had fallen by six per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2011, while CSO figures revealed in May that sales the previous month were down by five per cent overall.
In a statement, the Department of Justice said legislation to address upward only rent reviews is “being developed” in consultation with the Attorney General, and is expected to be published later this year.
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