Business Rent if can't use store in New York

amother

Fri, Mar 20 2020, 4:24 pm

Governer Cuomo announced all businesses must close and no one can be manning stores and physical work places. To those of you who are business owners: are we supposed to pay rent during this period if the governer said we cannot use the property? Who holds the bag in this?

notshanarishona

Fri, Mar 20 2020, 5:07 pm

Presuming your stuff is still in the storefront and you are not handing the key over to your landlord of course you still have to pay rent .

Amarante

Fri, Mar 20 2020, 5:16 pm

You would still owe rent but there is a moratorium on evictions. Your landlord and you could theoretically negotiate some kind of reduction in rent since there will be so many businesses collapsing so a landlord might prefer a lower rent rather than a vacant building.

Your lease might contain specific provisions and your business insurance might cover closure of store due to a force majeure event.

ectomorph

Fri, Mar 20 2020, 5:23 pm

It is not in your landlords best interest to let you fail. It is in their best interest to suspend rent. If you can get them to understand that, it would be ideal. Make sure to frame how you've always paid and simply do nit have the money. They cant evict you now anyway.