Some Kuwaiti landlords in Kuwait exempt expats from paying rents for 2 months

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Focus should be on helping SMEs: Al-Sabti

KUWAIT CITY, March 17: While everyone is warning about the spread of corona infection; a wide segment of expatriates, especially the lowincome earners, are hoping for the infection to move to their residential buildings for the rents to be slashed, and landlords on the other hand are rallying behind the initiative announced by landlords of commercial complexes to reduce rents in view of the implications of the government closure order on owners of enterprises, reports Al-Rai daily.

Some landlords have responded positively to repercussions of the government lockdown by waiving the rent for March, as witnessed in various commercial complexes; while others exempted their tenants from paying rent for two consecutive months – March and April – due to the financial challenges that many tenants are facing, especially since payment of their salaries stopped abruptly because of the corona crisis.

A number of expatriates told the daily that the spread of the virus and governmental precautionary steps led to the closure of their workplaces. Therefore, their salaries will not be paid considering the enormous losses incurred by their employers in terms of operational returns.

Most of them operate under contractual agreements; and legally speaking, they are not entitled to privileges if the work is not completed. They pointed out the corona crisis severely affected their incomes, to the extent of defaulting in the payment of rent and then engaging in judicial battles with their landlords.

Other expatriates stressed that although the payment of their salaries did not stop during this period because they work in government agencies or large companies with the ability to absorb the economic shock, their expenses increased due to the need to purchase items needed to protect themselves against the virus.

They affirmed that exceptional rent reduction will help them face the consequences of the crisis. They pointed out some expatriates work on a daily basis and their work almost stopped; asserting many will agree with them that it is difficult to pay the rent, especially those sharing accommodations, as they live in groups in one apartment. They cannot return to their countries in order to reduce expenses due to the suspension of fl ights and they will not be able to pay rent for their apartments due to disrupted income.

Essa Al-Sabti – a landlord – said there is no reason to reduce rents now, particularly since there is no cut in the salaries of a large number of expatriates during this period. He pointed out the focus should be on helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) because they are the hardest hit by this crisis. He said real estate companies and real estate owners are forced to reduce or waive rents due to circumstances beyond their control, in light of the government’s directives and precautionary measures to control the corona pandemic.

He said the lease contracts do not stipulate reduction of rent in times of crisis; but this step, if taken, will be purely based on humanitarian grounds to help tenants face repercussions of this pandemic and as societal contribution of landlords. He also noted that if a tenant presents a document showing his salary has been affected; the landlord is considerate enough if he decides to waive the rent due to the fact that in case of eviction, the tenant will face difficulties in finding another accommodation. “In other words, slashing or waiving the rent should not be done collectively; it should be handled as individual cases,” Al-Sabti concluded.

Meanwhile, a group of citizens appealed to landlords to take a humanitarian stand by waiving the rent of tenants whose means of livelihood halted abruptly due to the spread of coronavirus.

They clarified this call is inspired by the humanitarian leadership role of the State of Kuwait adopted and drawn by global humanitarian leader His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to contribute to ongoing efforts to provide assistance to those struggling under the current conditions in the country, specifically those without fixed income and those affected by the lockdown.

They explained the initiative is based on humanitarian grounds, and that everyone is invited to adopt and support it, as well as exert efforts to encourage landlords to do the same. Since the coronavirus outbreak, many companies and institutions have taken into account the humanitarian conditions by exempting their tenants from paying rent considering the current economic conditions.

CEO of the Buildings Company Walid Al-Shariaan confirmed the exemption of all restaurants and cafés at the Avenues Mall from paying rent for March and April, in addition to 25 percent discount for owners of other commercial establishments in the mall. This is in solidarity with the tenants in the mall, in addition to postponing the collection of arrears from owners of the SMEs and rescheduling their payments for several months.

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