- The intervention should only concern business leases that were “closed by state order”.
- The extension should be limited to a time equal to the period these businesses remained closed.
- The arrangement should concern individually and exclusively the future expiration date of each lease, and should not be accompanied by any general prohibition of recourse to the Court or prohibition of the execution of court decisions.
- The extension should only apply to rent-paying tenants.
- End the forced reduction of rents as soon as the market opens and provide for a suspension of tax and other obligations for at least one quarter for owners as well who have turned into a group of “afflicted with no CAD”.
The letter reads as follows:
To the Minister of Development & Mr. Adoni Georgiadis of Investments
Here Athens, 28.3.2021
TOPIC: Commercial leases: How to support tenants without ruining landlords!
Dear Minister
Real estate owners have been greatly disturbed and worried by the news to the press that in addition to the mandatory rent reduction, in response to strong requests from the professional organizations, as an additional measure to deal with the consequences of the pandemic, you are also preparing legislative intervention during the duration of professional leases.
In an age where mutual understanding and cooperation between landlords and tenants is the norm,our organization is strongly opposed to any such interference which, without your intention, will open the “Aeolus’ ascus” for a gradual, fatal and inevitable return to the Tenancy of the occupation and later period, which will distort the functioning of the market and the economy, and which will ultimately prove even more disastrous and for those you are supposed to protect…
We also note that interference with commercial leases will create an unequal playing field with businesses housed in privately owned properties which also suffered great losses from the mandatory closure but have no corresponding care from the state.
But if you insist on this intention, our proposals to minimize the negative implications andto support tenants without damaging landlordswhich we ask you to consider are as follows:
- The intervention should be of a special nature only. It will not cover all current leases, leases for operations that remained open, nor leases for “affected” operations. It should be specifically and exclusively limited to the category of properties that businesses “closed by state order”. state mandate” of each category of these activities.
- The result of the intervention will be the extension of the duration of each lease contract for the months during which the business was forced to shut down, in order to give the business tenants the time of of their contracts that they lost due to the forced closure of their businesses. Therefore, it will individually and exclusively concern the future expiration time of each lease, and should not be accompanied by any general prohibition of recourse to the Court, or the execution of its court decisions.
- Necessary, self-evident and from the » condition will be until then the complete consistency of each tenant in fulfilling his financial obligations to his landlord, since the State has taken and implemented a multitude of measures in favor of tenants so that they can be consistent in paying their rents and other related obligations .
- Finally, the State must, on the one hand, by opening the market, put an end to the ongoing reduction of rents and, on the other hand, adopt measures to suspend the tax and other obligations of the owners for at least one quarter, because that is how long it lasts approximately the delay in the payment of their compensations, since they are the only category of “victims without KAD” for which the slightest measure of this welfare does not apply.
With special respect and trust in your judgment and objectivity
The President The Secretary General : justify;”>Stratos I. Paradias Tassos G. Vappas
Lawyer A.P. – UIPI President Lawyer A.P. – y.D.N.
