The Independent has claimed in a recent report that property managers blame landlords for currently vacant premises. Many landlords took a firm stance on rent arrears that resulted from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, locking up premises and forcing the tenants to abandon them. Several premises have since remained unoccupied, despite being put up on the market.
The real estate sector lost 40 per cent of revenue in 2020, mainly because of the effects of COVID-19 on the economy. Almost all business activities were shut down by April last year, with the closure of offices and shops causing most of the losses.
Landlords were seeking much-needed revenues from tenants hit by months of closure. The Independent reported that Knight Frank Uganda’s Managing Director, Judy Rugasira, said that although the property owners were legally entitled to their money, it was only prudent that they either waived or reduced the rent or gave other concessions. Had they done so, more space would be occupied by now, according to Rugasira.
Restrictions aimed at controlling the disease’s spread began to be lifted in the second half of 2020, starting with salons and spas. Cinemas and gyms opened mid-November. These openings were subject to restrictive standard operating procedures (SOPs), including a 9 pm to 5.30 am curfew, social distancing and reduced headcount.
“The impact of these [SOP] measures on retail as a whole, is that trade in Uganda is still under severe pressure, and is further affected by lack of consumer spending on the back of a slowdown in the economy,” says a Market Performance Review and Outlook report recently published by Knight Frank.
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