|
Dear tenant of SKAR,
The pandemic caused by the coronavirus is chopping everyone to pieces. The measures that have been taken, the concerns about your own health or the health of others, turn everything firmly upside down. And on top of that there is a lot of financial uncertainty. For many people, this is a concern that you can't take into account.
We understand that. Many of SKAR's tenants see their incomes fall, sometimes even stop altogether. Some may still have a buffer, others not. We don't like to see you building up a large debt because of this setback.
What can SKAR do?
First of all, we want to give everyone the necessary space for the next two months; memories will be sent, but that's where we'll stop for a while.
Some ask if we can apply rent reduction, or perhaps even rent forgiveness. I'm afraid that won't work. SKAR itself - because we don't make a profit as a foundation - has no room to miss out on one or two months' rent income. But we can do something else.
What are we thinking of
A number of our properties require maintenance. We would normally commission that maintenance from a contractor. Part of that work will really have to be done by a professional company, but we have calculated that it is possible to organise a very large part of it differently. Think of simple painting or carpentry.
The idea now is to let those tenants who are affected by the corona crisis and are unable to pay their rent, do part of those jobs, at a rate comparable to that of the contractor. You will then get a job for which the proceeds of your work for you are equal to one, maximum two months' rent, and that will be deducted from your rent.
Also for someone else
That's of course - you might think - nice for the person who can do that work, but suppose you're not able to do such work, for whatever reason? That's what we've been thinking. We want to make it possible for tenants to do this for other tenants. So you can donate some of your hours to someone else who can be relieved financially through you.
That's the plan - we're gonna see if it works now. You'll hear more about that next week.
Furthermore, it is good to know that the Municipality of Rotterdam and the Dream and Deed Foundation are also trying to keep the problems somewhat bearable.
For now, good luck.
Olof van de Wal
|
