March 27, 2009
NParks offers tenants 15% rental rebate
Operators glad but some would like more relief to help them during slump
By Jessica Lim
ANOTHER government body has stepped up to offer a 15 per cent rental rebate to its tenants.
The National Parks Board (NParks) told The Straits Times the move was a way of helping its tenants cope with the unfavourable economic times.
The rebate, which will apply until the end of the year, will be backdated to January for more than 70 tenants - mostly F&B operators - at 26 parks islandwide.
The move follows announcements in January by four government agencies - the Housing Board, JTC Corporation, the Singapore Land Authority and the National Environment Agency - that they have slashed rents by 15 per cent.
And earlier this month, government-linked Sentosa Development Corporation joined the rest in cutting rents.
These steps come at a time when commercial landlords are facing pressure from tenants seeking bigger rebates than the 4 per cent given since the Government handed out a 40 per cent property tax rebate in January.
So far, one commercial landlord - of the upcoming Ion Orchard shopping mall - has offered the highest rebate: up to 30 per cent off base rentals when the huge centre opens in July.
Among the tenants which will gain from NParks rent cuts is Aramsa Spa at Bishan Park. Its spokesman said she was 'very glad', pointing out that tenants had enquired about it in January.
'It will be used to help offset rising operational costs like utilities, maintenance and labour costs,' she said. 'It will help cushion us in these times when even a little goes a long way.'
Tenants were informed about the rebates last month. The rebates will cost NParks about $2.3 million in lost rental revenue for the year.
All tenants welcomed the move, but some wondered if more could be done.
The owner of Bliss Restaurant in Punggol Park in Hougang, for one, said rental surged almost 400 per cent when she renewed a three-year lease last March. The rental valuation, which decides how much a tenant pays after a renewal, was conducted at the end of 2007, during the property boom. Mrs Christine Low, 35, who did not reveal the exact amount of her rent, said she now forks out a five-digit sum monthly, up from a four-digit sum before the renewal.
'It was a really ridiculous increase, and one that was implemented after we worked our butts off to bring in good business,' said Mrs Low, who has asked NParks for a reprieve. 'The rebate is better than nothing, but when rental is so high, the amount is almost negligible.'
She also wants a free revaluation of rental 'to suit the current situation'.
So far, some tenants The Straits Times approached say they have had their rents adjusted in the past year after appeals.
Addressing the Bliss issue directly, the statutory board's assistant director Tan Lai Kheng said the rental 'was revised from a very low base line and even in current market conditions is still a very fair rental'.
'NParks is continuing to monitor the market situation and will provide assistance where possible,' she added.
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