Eli5: Why are so many office blocks and retail shops in UK that are ” to let” remain empty for months, rather than to reduce rent ? Why do landlords do this?

Question

Eli5: Why are so many office blocks and retail shops in UK that are ” to let” remain empty for months, rather than to reduce rent ? Why do landlords do this?

In: 1189

Answer 1

In New York it’s a bit different.

Basically if you keep rent high nearby places get high rent. But if a place is too expensive and goes unrented then your property valuation drops. You pay taxes based on property valuation not the land.

For land owners they basically get to make their other stores pay more and they pay less taxes. So it’s kind of a win win.

There’s a federal probe over some software that basically uses ai models to say which rent should be raised and which lots to keep empty to maximize profit. And it works.