The Government, as a general principle, allows the market to operate without having to prescribe how landlords and tenants structure their leases, said Minister of Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang. Stepping in would lead to inefficient outcomes and make all parties worse off, he added.
Mr Lim said this on Monday (May 11) in a written parliamentary response to a question by Member of Parliament Lee Bee Wah, who asked if the Government will consider introducing measures to help small retailers in shopping malls, such as by disallowing the practice of landlords pegging the rental charge to a tenant’s sales volume when renewing leases.
Ms Lee also questioned if the Government could introduce a platform by which tenants can take reference on what should be the fair market rates for shop rent.
Mr Lim said that companies have other means to manage their rental consts, such as by referring to the Business Leasing Guide by the Singapore Business Federation, which was released in January this year.
The minister added that information on retail rates is publicly available on the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s website, and that the data is updated every quarter.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 11 May 2015