Colonial First State, landlord for our newsXpress Forest Hill store has introduced an extended trading hours charge. We have been charged because we open before the official centre opening hours each day. They have applied this charge retrospectively – from July 2008.
We are still waiting for compensation water damaged stock removed from our shop when CFSPM contruction went wrong and we were flooded in 2007.
That’s outrageous! CFS must be getting very desperate to be commencing a rather flimsy charge. Is there any reason for it?
We have had this also. They go around the centre complaining that no one wants to open on a public holiday and Sunday then they ask us to pay a portion based on size for cleaning, security etc. CFS is a basket case. They are certainly not going to be hurt during a down turn in sales as they will still have their head in the sand. Everybody else is seeing a decline in earnings yet they will post a huge profit on the back of sending people to the wall.
I get charged for being a newsagent. I have let another shop in the same centre and the price difference per sqm is amazing.
I wonder if they will charge Australia Post since they are there at the same time as us.
Mark
I am sure you know more about leases than I do but that as Alex said it is outrageous. I am sure if you had endless amount of money you would fight this.
Let us know if this is legal and what Nathan Rees has to say. How can they penalise you for drawing people to the shopping centre?
These people who work for these institutions would not know how to run a business but they know how to pick on small business’s.
I wonder if Colonial are trying to retrieve money from anywhere they can for their poor business decisions?
As a newsagent not in a shopping centre I ask why would others sign on these ridiculous leases that end up in ruination. If your charged 150k /year plus rent you should have some idea that it,s bloody expensive and you have the anchor tenant selling just about everything you sell.
Derek,
There are reasonably common clauses in leases that allow landlords to forward the costs associated with opening earlier onto the tenant. The problem arises in the process of determining exactly what and how much those additional costs. It is often much less than an exact science. Smart landlord would try and encourage more shop to open earlier, not essentially discourage the practice.
But charging retrospectively is a different matter. I would seriously challenge the legal validity of this.
Derek,
I am sure there are many reasons why Nathan Rees will do nothing about this but the main reason is that Nathan Rees is Premier of NSW and Mark is in Victoria.
Niall
Thankyou- Derek
Jarryd
Youre right, they should be encouraging shops to open earlier, it is dissapointing and discouraging that family business’s that you have to constantly run into obstacle after obstacle.
BTW- I have just finished a novel, my new lease is just about to get the nod of approval. It is 96 pages long, that is just plain overkill and if you want to trade on what do you do!
Agreed legal advice would be my first port of call. Mark may have to be the test case for this if he challenges this slight on small business, lets hope not.
Derek
Derek,
I know what you mean on the lease. We signed a new lease not too long ago and had the pleasure of working with both landlords and solicitors that were inexperienced in commercial leases. I had to request so many changes it was unbelievable. I think it took over 12 months to sort though the changes and revisions. That may be a slight reflection on me going through leases with a fine tooth comb (I’ve been known to request changes of single words), but the cost of getting it wrong can be high.
In hard economic times one would think that shopping centre landlords would be doing everything they can to help their tenants increase turnover. Its cash in their pocket as well as the retailer’s. Instead they go for the quick cash grab – stupid decisions by stupid people.
There is no provision in our lease for this charge. Further, since our hours have not changed in years and they have not charged then to charge now would be aa variation on past practice and there are legal principles on which we can rely – at a cost.
Land tax bills have also been sent out to these owners and the bill is substantially higher due to higher property values last year. So expect them to pass this increased cost onto the tenant at the next rent review.
Also heard from a pizza shop in Northland (VIC) that the had a similiar extra rent charged for trading outside centre trading hours a few years ago.The owner of the shop wanted to cater for the supermarket workers that finished after center hours.
Guys
Exactly stupid decisions from stupid people along with the biggest grey areas left open courtesy of our creators of leasing ACTS for example Mark’s situation.
It is not a pleasant predicament going up against people who take pleasure in spending shareholders money.
I am sure Mark you would be considering a range of options, keep us updated.
Derek