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Independent Senator Fergal Quinn: “many businesses struggle to meet their monthly rent payments”.

Independent Senator Feargal Quinn has appealed for support from small and medium sized businesses in every county throughout the country for his new initiative to tackle head-on the issue of upward only rent reviews which are crippling many already struggling enterprises.

Senator Quinn said upward only rent reviews are part and parcel of commercial leases which were entered into during the economic boom and also in the years prior to it.

“As a consequence, many businesses struggle to meet their monthly rent payments – payments that bear no relation to the level of rent prevailing in the marketplace today” he said. “The situation is exacerbated by the fact that consumer spending and economic activity is at an all-time low”.

Senator Quinn said the Government parties, separately and jointly, made very clear commitments to finally tackling the problem posed by upward only rent reviews contained in pre-existing commercial lease agreements. In the Programme for Government, the coalition parties jointly pledged to “legislate to end upward only rent reviews for existing leases”.
The Government has cited constitutional obstacles as being the reason for its inaction on the issue.

“I don’t agree. Backed by independent legal advice, I am firmly of the view that it is possible to introduce legislation to tackle head-on the problems posed by upward only rent reviews”, he said.

Senator Quinn has now published the Upward Only Rent (Clauses and Reviews) Bill 2013 and it will be debated in the Seanad on 2nd October. 
The Bill will make upward only rent review clauses unenforceable and will also preclude rent review processes from setting rent at a level which is greater than the amount of the prevailing market rent.

Senator Quinn added: “This Bill will serve as a lifeline to small and medium sized businesses that are struggling to cope with excessive rents that bear no relation to rents in the open market. This Bill will give them the leeway to agree a level of rent that reflects the current rental values along their street - a value which reflects the economic realities of 2013, not a value which is stuck in 2006”.

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