RISHI Sunak is being urged to grant pubs, clubs, and restaurants a year-long rent holiday to help them recover from the coronavirus hit.
In a letter to the chancellor the Hospitality Union said the drastic measure is needed to save up to two million jobs in the sector.
The group, which represents 3,000 businesses, wants the Treasury to apply a “national time out” on rents until March next year.
Exemption from payments would be backdated to when the lockdown began.
Businesses that had to shut due to a Government order or because social distancing rules make them commercially unviable would be able to benefit.
And those that have been able to reopen would be entitled to pay a reduced rate of rent based on their turnover.
The Hospital Union says the move wouldn’t cost the taxpayer a penny and companies would pay the money back in the long run.
In the letter, sent before the reopening of bars and restaurants, its chief Jonathan Downey said over half of hospitality venues are at risk of closing.
Under the plan, landlords would be allowed to extend leases by a year to recoup the money from businesses.
They would also get a 12-month holiday on their mortgages so they didn’t have to default because of the stoppage in cash flow.
