Rent Troubles Continued for Small Businesses in July

By: Kerry Pipes
Published: August 9th, 2022

Rent woes for small business operators are not getting any better. Nearly half (46%) reported that they're paying more for rent now than they did six months ago, and another 4% say their landlords plan to increase their rent soon, according to the latest rent report from Alignable.

Drill down into the July numbers for restaurants and rent is up 7% from June. 45% of restaurant owners said they couldn't pay their full July rent last month. Retailers saw an even steeper jump, up 9% from June, where 44% of them didn't have enough cash on hand to cover their rent. Both these rates of delinquency represent all-time highs for 2022.

Here are some other highlights:

• 46% of small businesses say they're paying higher rent now than they did six months ago. 
• 45% of restaurants (up 7% from June) and 44% of retailers (up 9% from June) couldn't afford their July rent.
• In fact, for restaurants and retailers, their rent delinquency rates in July were the highest they’ve been since the end of 2021.
• 40% of salons couldn’t make rent in July, up 15% from 25% in June.
• The overall rent delinquency rate for U.S. small businesses is 34%, just 1% shy of 2022's highest rate (35% in June).
• 42% of small businesses in Massachusetts, 41% in New York, 40% in Illinois, and 37% in Michigan weren’t able to fulfill their rent obligations in July.

To see Alignable’s July Rent Report go here.

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