Coronavirus: landlords say non-paying tenants still liable to pay up after crisis

The Cyprus Association of Property Owners (Ksia) said on Friday owners and tenants need to find a “mutually acceptable payment solution” if rents are late due to measures being taken against the spread of the coronavirus.

Ksia head Giorgos Mouskides said the measures the government had taken in suspending lending from banks would provide liquidity on the market.

However he was less happy about the decision to ban landlords from evicting tenants if they failed to pay rent during March, April and May.

“If the government wants to cover the rents for individuals who have a real problem, they can do it,” Mouskides said.

The measure, he said did not mean tenants were exempt from paying their rents altogether.

He said they could strike a deal with their landlord for lower rents for a period if they wished.

The landlord and the tenant could make such an agreement he said, and in the future they can agree terms to make up the backlog.

The government, he said, could not infringe on the agreement between the tenant and landlord as it is a private contract.

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