It is no secret Melbourne’s small business owners are among the hardest hit by the sweeping coronavirus restrictions in the second lockdown in a row in the span of just few months.
But an ABC report highlights the two sides of the coin in the grim tale of survival during COVID-19 times, where both ‘protagonists’, – landlords and tenants – struggle to make ends meet.
‘BEEN HERE FOR GENERATIONS…IT’S VERY FRUSTRATING’
Stavros Konis’ story is one many members of the Greek, and broader Melbourne, community can resonate with.
His family has been running the restaurant he owns in Richmond since 1979.
“We’ve been here for three generations. My grandfather had this business, my father had the business. We’ve never missed a rent payment,” Mr Konis tells the ABC.
But the pandemic effect is now forcing him to reassess things dramatically.
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The leased restaurant’s property manager also happens to be a Greek Australian. Steve Pantelios of Steveway Real Estate advised Mr Konis the landlord offered to slash rent by half, at the onset of Melbourne’s second wave of coronavirus cases and associated restrictions on movement.
Yet, with revenue brought down by 90 per cent, a ‘silver bullet’ to keep the business afloat is hard to find.
“You’re trying to drive the business, and rejig from an a la carte restaurant to takeaway, and then you’re getting the wind sucked out of your sails,” Mr Konis says.
A default notice was soon to follow, together with a $385 administration fee.
Stating confident he can make the business survive, Mr Konis finds the situation “very frustrating”.
A LOOMING CATASTROPHE?
Along with similar case studies of business owners affected by the ongoing pandemic crisis, the ABC story brings forward the ‘landlord’s perspective too.
Real estate gent Steve Pantelios responds to the criticism claiming they have always “acted in good faith” and even gone above and beyond with reductions offered to tenants at times.
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But he says there have also been cases of tenants trying to take advantage of the situation, placing landlords into the ‘losing’ side, especially in cases of self-funded retirees who rely on rental payments to make a living.
“In these instances, we must be mindful of the landlord’s interests,” Mr Pantelios says.
Meanwhile with the evictions moratorium expiring in September, Mr Konis has now come to terms with the idea of relocating his business, and says he will be looking for “a different landlord with a smarter approach.”
He believes that landlords need to come up with a commonly agreed strategy with tenants to make this period work for both parties.
Citing the current lack of new businesses planning to open, he warns a looming “catastrophe” awaits both parties otherwise.
“It’s not about us versus them. We’ve got to start working together,” Mr Konis says.
