"Rent holidays" will relieve Kazan businesses from part of the financial burden

(Kazan City KZN.RU, February 24, Kseniya Shvetsova). This year in Kazan it is planned to introduce a new form of support for small and medium businesses - the so-called "rent holidays". It will allow businesses to get rid of the financial burden in the first years of operation and will make program to support small and medium businesses, acting on the territory of the city, much more efficient. The conditions, under which businesses can receive municipal property in the rent under the new program, were discussed today at a meeting of the Coordination Council for Development of Small and Medium Enterprises, which was held in the City Hall under the chairmanship of Mayor Ilsur Metshin.

As Chairman of the Committee of Land and Property Relations of the Executive Committee of Kazan Renat Galyautdinov reported at the meeting, there is a tendency of reducing of the total leased area of ​​the municipal buildings in recent years. Thus, in early 2014 the total area of ​​the leased premises was 85 thousand square meters, at the end of the year - a total of 65 thousand square meters, and in 2015 decreased by 18 thousand square meters. One of the reasons for reducing the space is the refusal of tenants on the contract. Under these circumstances, cost of rental space becomes a heavy burden for many. In order to support SMB in the capital of Tatarstan it is planned to introduce such a form of support as "rent holidays".

Recall property support of small businesses will allow entrepreneurs to receive a number of municipal facilities free of rights of third parties under the terms of a reduced rent. It is assumed that if more than one application will be received for the same premise, an auction will be. Lease term is 5 years. In the first two years the lease will not be charged, in the third year entrepreneurs will pay 25% of the rent, in the fourth - 50%, in the fifth year - 75%.

As the first deputy chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Tatarstan Arthur Nikolaev told, small businesses are afraid, if the repair of premises offered for rent to those conditions will be too expensive. According to First Deputy Head of the municipality of the city Rustam Nigmatullin, rooms require not capital, but partial repair. Also one of the concerns of the business community is the cost of premises at the stage of tendering.

It is important, that businesses don’t have to afraid that after the expiration of the lease term they will be asked to leave the premises. "Entrepreneurs will have an absolute advantage - the right to stay after the expiration of the lease without further bidding”, - R.Nigmatullin stressed. He added that the city authorities are ready to continue the discussion of this form of support with entrepreneurs and representatives of the Republic of Tatarstan Chamber of Commerce in order to explain all the details of the procedure.

Recall that in accordance with applicable laws, after the expiration of the lease term - that is five years - an entrepreneur will have a priority right of redemption of the premises without an auction. Today it is planned to provide 100 spaces on terms preferential rent to businessmen.