More than half of small and midsized businesses (SMBs) are dealing with rent increases, according to the latest Small Business Rent report published by Alignable.
In a survey of 4,601 randomly selected SMB owners polled from July 2-27, 55% of respondents said coping with rent spikes, with 15% reporting they are paying over 20% more in rent costs compared to what was required six months ago.
For the fifth consecutive month, nearly 40% of SMBs said they cannot afford to pay this month’s rent, due to ongoing spikes and trouble ramping up revenue. During July 40% of small business owners said they were only earning half or less of the monthly revenue they generated prior to Covid.
Texas had the highest percentage (73%) of small business owners facing rent spikes, aligning with its position as the second-highest state for rent delinquency at 47%. Maryland had the highest SMB rent delinquency rate at 55%.
As for the landlords, 13% of the SMBs’ landlords who haven’t raised rents yet said they’ll need to do it soon to combat the effects of cumulative inflation. But as of July, 52% of independent landlords said they experienced a financial post-pandemic rebound, despite three years of putting some tenant payments on hold and/or discounting their rents to help renters cope with Covid and inflation.
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