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Hong Kong’s Link Reit to hold off action against tenants that owe rent following end of government moratorium
- Legal action can be resumed following the end of a three-month ‘protection period’, but Link will not act immediately, executive says
- Comments come after Financial Secretary Paul Chan calls on landlords to ‘show compassion and be willing to negotiate with tenants’
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Link Reit, Asia’s largest real estate investment trust, said it would not immediately take legal action against tenants who owe rent following the end of a Hong Kong government enforced three-month “protection period”.
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Enacted by the city’s Legislative Council during the fifth wave of coronavirus infections, Hong Kong’s worst outbreak, the rent moratorium became effective in early May. Its three-month protection period ended at the end of July.
The moratorium barred landlords from taking action against tenants who defaulted on rents between January 1 this year and the end of the protection period, as well as for most places affected by pandemic-related restrictions.
Less than 10 per cent of Link’s tenants owed rent because of its continuous support, said Gary Fok, the managing director of leasing in Hong Kong at the trust.
“Legal work can actually be resumed now, but we will not do it in one step,” he said, adding that Link would negotiate with tenants over rent payments before taking legal action.
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“It is possible that every tenant will have a different reaction, so the process of solving this is changing every day. Sometimes, there are cash-flow issues in doing business,” he said.
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