Real estate firm Colliers International says about one in five surveyed commercial tenants requested April rent relief as the COVID-19 shutdown hits business activity

Real estate firm Colliers International says about one in five commercial tenants surveyed requested April rent relief as the COVID-19 shutdown hit business activity.

The company says that 21 per cent of the 7,100 retail, industrial, and office tenants in its managed portfolio across Canada requested relief, and close to half of that share indicated they could not afford to make their rent payment.

Businesses forced to fully close were the most likely to seek relief at 39 per cent, while 23 per cent of partially open businesses asked, as did 12 per cent that operated remotely and seven per cent that remained open.

The survey shows that small business tenants were 2.7 times more likely to ask for relief than regional, national or international tenants, while retail tenants were 2.3 times more likely to do so than office and industrial tenants.

Colliers found that 34 per cent of small businesses had asked for relief, and that about 40 per cent of retail tenants had asked.

The real estate services firm says that landlords should handle relief requests case-by-case and help tenants learn about government assistance programs, but that more information is needed on the commercial rent assistance program announced by the federal government last week.