Quarterly rent days

During my LPC, I took an elective option in Commercial Property and whence my interest in the subject was born.

We learnt about the quarterly rent days and were taught a method for remembering them. Unfortunately, I seem to have forgotten that method! The only date I can remember is- the 25th December. So one of the quarterly rent days falls on Xmas.

Browsing through the British Retail Consortium's (BRC) website I was interested to learn that this rather archaic practice dates from the dark ages when the King would send his agents on horseback to collect rent payments from his Tenants. Times may have changed, but the practice of quarterly rent days remain.

The practice remains unpopular with Tenants. Along with business rates (which can be higher than rents in some places), quarterly rent payments remain problematic. According to the BRC's website, most Landlords have moved to accepting monthly rent payments. After all, no Landlord wants to be landed with an empty property! However, the practice does still exist. Given the troubles on our high streets, and our stagnant economy, I wonder whether or not this ancient practice should be abolished altogether.

As stated in a previous post, the Government recently commissioned the Portas review into high street regeneration. The Government stated that it would accept all of the report's recommendations. Whilst the big out of town retail developments appear to present a problem, the problems of business rates and quarterly rent days are still a bug bear for many Landlords and Tenants. If the Government wants to inject some life into our moribund high streets then it could do no worse than to cut business rates in the next budget and abolish the practice of quarterly rent payment days altogether.

A business rates cut and the abolition of quarterly rent days certainly present some food for thought.

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