Assessing the viability of the turnover rent model in the retail commercial real estate of post-COVID-19 era in Kampala

Abstract

This research is meant to assess how viable is the turnover rent model in the post covid era of Kampala. The main objective is to assess the viability of the turnover rent model in Uganda in the post covid era with a case study of shopping malls within Kampala central division. The specific objectives include to assess the acceptability by tenants to adopt the model, the forecasted challenges and the how this model will affect the landlord tenant relations. The research involved both qualitative and quantitative analysis and was exploratory in design. The survey population included all tenants and landlords/tenants of shopping malls in the Kampala however the sample population focused on a selected number of malls within Kampala central division, their tenants and property managers made up the sample space. The sample was obtained using judgment sampling to select ten shopping malls and the number of participants to participate in the research. Stratified and random sampling was used to select the tenants to participate in the research. The data collection techniques used where online questionnaires generated on google forms to collect responses from the tenants and face to face interviews with the researcher having an interview guide to collect responses from the property manager. In summary, analysis made by the researcher observed a correlation between the effects of covid-19 virus mainly the rent paid under lockdown to the willingness of the tenants to adopt the turn over rent model. The dependence of adoption of turnover rent on effects of the covid-19 lockdown gives a glimpse of hope for the turnover rent adoption in the post covid-19 era in Uganda. However, for the proper execution of this model, the research recommended and few ways to overcome the possible pitfalls of this method forexample increased landlord- tenant trust to ensure smoothing operation of the model, proper accounts keeping by the tenants and transparency to disclose their financial records to landlords and educating the tenants and landlords about the turnover rent model among others.