Malls may be at risk of being empty if owners continue to play hardball with retailers, especially those of smaller outlets, Newsroom Pro managing editor Bernard Hickey is warning.
Mr Hickey told TVNZ 1's Breakfast this morning there needs to be a proper discussion between tenants and landlords.
"There's been a lot of argy-bargy in the last five or six weeks in the lockdown," he said.
"A lot of tenants are saying 'hey, I couldn't even get into my business to earn any money, how can I pay you the entire rent?"
Mr Hickey knows of one hair salon owner in a Queenstown complex who received "an ugly letter" asking to "pay up in full" for rent.
"There has been some negotiations for some of the more sensible ones, but there are others who are playing very, very hardball and unfortunately in New Zealand the Government has yet to come up with a code of conduct which is actually being put through in Australia."
In Australia, the Government is looking for an agreement which reflects the collapse in sales revenue for tenants.
Meanwhile in New Zealand, Mr Hickey said the Government had "tried to help out a little bit", offering interest-free loans to small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"But that's not really solving the problem here of some of the landlords, particularly the big landlords ... there's been issues with Kiwi property not actually coming to the party and this is a massive problem for those people in malls.
"Landlords need to be a bit careful here. If they play too hardball they might open up their malls and find them completely empty."
SHARE ME