Staff Reporter
Some tenants may struggle to pay their monthly rentals in the near future if businesses are closed in a bid to minimise the spread of the coronavirus, according to a property expert.
Platinum Global founder Mike Spencer said in his monthly newsletter released Monday that South Africa could be faced with a concerning period for the next year or so as some businesses might be forced to scale down, with employees not being be remunerated as usual.
“The virus will disrupt life for many of us and will have major effects on business,” he said.
“We are going to have trouble in getting owners to pay their levies and tenants to pay their rentals and service fees.
“It is just a fact of life, but trustees and managing agents are going to have to be innovative in the solutions that they use.
“Those body corporates that have followed sound financial models will have fewer problems, but marginal body corporates are going to find the going tough.”
Spencer said this after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday night a host of measures to be implemented by the country to limit the spread of the COVID-19 which has since been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation.
South Africa reported 61 confirmed cases on Sunday night and it is feared the figure could continue rising.
Among some of the measures taken: the government has imposed a travel ban on foreign nationals from high-risk countries such as Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom and China; gatherings of more than 100 people will be prohibited; mass celebrations of national days such as Human Rights Day and other large government events will be cancelled; schools will be closed from Wednesday, 18 March, and will remain closed until after the Easter Weekend; visits to all correctional centres are suspended for 30 days with immediate effect; at least 35 of the country’s 53 land ports will be shut down with effect from Monday.
The government has not ordered private businesses to close but has urged them to exercise caution and good hygienic standards as the country battles the pandemic.
In his televised national address, Ramaphosa said: “We call on all businesses including mining, retail, banking and farming to ensure that they take all necessary measures to intensify hygiene control.
“We also call on the management of malls, entertainment centres and other places frequented by large numbers of people to bolster their hygiene control.”
Meanwhile, the Citizen newspaper reports that the South African Council of Churches and taxi industry body South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) will meet Monday to decide on how they will deal with COVID-19.
According to the paper, the council, whose congregations make up about 20 million people, and Santaco, which transports 14 million commuters daily, are set to deliberate on issues such as hygiene, changes in operations and educating people on how to prevent spreading the virus.