A severe downturn in the retail, food, and beverage industry has led many struggling tenants to reach out to their landlords to request rent discounts. Although there are no government directives protecting tenants at this time, landlords are being encouraged to cooperate with tenant requests where possible. But, not all landlords are in a position to do so, with rental income often going towards loan repayments and property holding costs. Recently, some local cities have started offering financial support to those landlords.

For properties located within Tokyo’s Minato Ward, the ward is offering to pay landlords up to half of the discounted rent amount for a maximum of three months between April and September 2020. The payout is limited to 150,000 Yen a month per property, and various conditions must be met. For example, if the monthly rent was reduced from 1,000,000 Yen to 800,000 Yen (a 200,000 Yen reduction), the ward will provide a subsidy of 100,000 Yen/month for up to three months.

Shinjuku Ward began a subsidy program in May that provides up to half of the discounted rent, with a limit of 50,000 Yen a month per property for a maximum of six months between April and October. A landlord can only receive the subsidy on a maximum of five properties. The landlord must have owned the property for at least two or five years. The ward had received 120 applications as of June 1 and over 1,400 telephone inquiries. 

Sources:
Minato Ward Homepage
Shinjuku Ward Homepage
The Sankei Shimbun, June 3, 2020.

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