Flawed lease laws hurting businesses

I READ in the Irish Examiner (January 6), that Arnotts had to pay €4 million to exit an upward only lease in the Jervis Shopping centre.

I also heard of a case of a small shop owner in a country town paying a huge rent now in danger of losing their home due to personal guarantees demanded when they signed the lease.

I noted also that Celtic Bookmakers were asked for two-and-a-half years’ rent to exit from leases.

Viable businesses were destroyed, not by the recession, but by greedy landlords.

In any other country in Europe the leases would be renegotiated and the businesses saved.

This lease law is a system of extortion.

The Upwards Only Rent Review Commercial Lease clause is an optional clause they will claim but fail to explain why virtually all commercial leases in the last 30 years have this clause, even when the state is the tenant.

If it was optional our public servants should be asked why they agreed to such leases on behalf of the Irish citizen.

This system fuelled the property bubble and destroyed the country.

All that was needed to enforce a rent increase on a commercial tenant was a confidential agreed rent which was then used as a comparable in rent reviews.

The system was wide open for corruption. Why should the bodies who have failed to act responsibly at great cost to the nation continue to be the arbitrators in these matters?

We must adopt European lease law that is not open to corruption or manipulation.

Máire Ó Corcráin

Glenageary

Co Dublin