Retailers challenge Government over rents
The Irish Commercial Tenants Association yesterday called on the Government to explain why legal problems with the issuecannot be overcome.
ICTA spokesman John Corcoran said a legal opinion prepared by a constitutional expert, Gerard Hogan (now a high court judge), for another group, Retail Excellence Ireland, had indicated that the Government could exercise its right under the Constitution to interfere with historical leases in the interests of the common good.
Mr Corcoran, the owner of Korky’s shoe shop on Dublin’s Grafton St and a leading campaigner on the issue of commercial rent reviews, said Mr Hogan’s view was that commercial tenants with historical upward-only rent review leases could be allowed to pay market rents.
The previous government introduced the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 which prohibited upward only rent reviews in respect of leases signed after Feb 28, 2010.
However, ICTA claims many retailers remained tied in by lengthy, older leases to paying exorbitant rates that take no account of the drastic downturn in the economy in recent years.
Mr Corcoran criticised Taoiseach Enda Kenny for his failure to honour a commitment made in the Programme for Government to address the issue.
In his speech to the Fine Gael ard fheis in Dublin on Saturday night, Mr Kenny remarked: “We had intended to legislate to end upward-only rent reviews, but this proved impossible because of constitutional difficulties.”
Mr Corcoran said the Fine Gael leader had made a solemn pledge to the Irish electorate to allow commercial tenants pay market rents.
“The time for action on this vital commercial issue is long overdue,” said Mr Corcoran.
He expressed concern that the owners of commercial property had been successful in lobbying the Government to avoid tackling the issue of such leases retrospectively. Mr Corcoran said Ireland was the only country in the EU to have such a system which was turning the country into an “economic wasteland.”
“This feudal lease law continues to destroy thousands of sustainable Irish businesses and jobs and is damaging the Irish commercial property market and preventing a recovery of the Irish economy,” he said.
Last night, the Department of Justice said it would not depart from its well-established precedent of not putting advice received from the Attorney General in the public domain.
