Lawyers are also seeing an increase in disputes between landlords and retail tenants, which could potentially lead to more evictions.
Total retail sales fell 8.1% from April 1 to June 30, the largest decline since 2009 amid the global financial crisis, according to American commercial real estate services and investment firm CBRE.
Retail rent collections improved to 77% in July from around 54% in April, but some tenants have continued to struggle with payments, according to Datex Property Solutions, a real-estate data firm that tracks rent collection on thousands of properties across the country.
In the ritzy Bal Harbour shops in Miami, Saks Fifth Avenue is being sued by its landlord for nonpayment of rent amounting to $1.9 million as of early July.
“We hope and think that the outcome of the lawsuit is that Saks would come to its senses and pay its rent in full,” said Matthew Whitman Lazenby, CEO of Whitman Family Development. “If Saks still doesn’t do so, we’ll have a whole host of other options for the space.”
Saks was closed from mid-March until the third week of May, though the company recorded stronger sales in June compared with last year.
“Unlike the majority of our landlord partners, Matthew Lazenby and the Whitman family have not acted in good faith,” said a Saks Fifth Avenue spokeswoman, adding the company has been able to work with other landlords “to amicably and logically share the losses incurred during the pandemic.” “Not only have they chosen not to adequately assume their fair share of the damages created by the global health crisis still gripping our nation, they have used the press and legal system to bully tenants.”
Similar scenarios are playing out across the U.S., as tenants have continued to struggle with payments.
“It’s an unfortunate but necessary tool to enforce the lease,” said Derek Waltchack, partner at Shannon Waltchack, a real-estate landlord based in Birmingham, Ala., with more than 400 tenants. “We also have to balance the expense of securing new tenants versus working with our tenants and providing some rent deferrals.”
