Warsaw reduces rents of commercial premises till the end of the pandemic

The previous rules allowed for entrepreneurs to benefit from preferential tariff for up to 3 months for every 5 years

Warsaw has updated its regulation concerning the rent of municipal premises, in order to adapt it to the extraordinary situation, caused by Covid-19. On Tuesday, the city authorities reminded that the possibility to rent municipal commercial premises at a lower price will be extended until the end of the pandemic. This way, local entrepreneurs will have higher chances of meeting their financial obligations in the context of tightened budgets.

Adapting regulations to new kinds of threats

Much like everywhere else in Europe, Warsaw's entrepreneurs are facing a prolonged disruption in their economic activity due to the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. For those of them who work on premises owned by the municipality, there was the possibility to benefit from reduced rent due to deteriorated financial situation - a chance that many were quick to seize, but which also turned out to be insufficient, given the reduced client inflow and financial opportunities for the past eight months.

Warsaw City realized that the existing regulation on the rent of commercial municipal premises was inadequate, as it allowed for the tenant to obtain a discount for a maximum of 3 months over a 5-year period. Clearly, the existing legal provisions did not take into account similar emergency situations to the one we live in.

The City Council of Warsaw has therefore amended the regulation in July, so that reduction can be applied also during the events of pandemic and other threats, subject to a decrease in tenants' income or due to the need to completely close the premises because of restrictions, orders or bans imposed by the Government.

For the current situation, this means that those entrepreneurs working on municipal commercial premises in Warsaw who have approved applications for reduced rent from spring, will benefit from lower tariffs until the end of the pandemic and even one month after the restrictions, orders or bans are lifted.