Nama Reduced Rents In 99% Of 2011 Applications

The National Asset Management Agency approved 113 of 114 applications for rental reductions sought by tenants of Nama debtors last year, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has confirmed, the Irish Times reported. Last December, Nama issued a guidance note on upward-only commercial leases, following Mr Noonan’s announcement that the Government had abandoned plans to scrap upward-only rent reviews. Mr Noonan said it had “not proved possible to develop a targeted scheme” to tackle upward-only rent reviews that would “not be vulnerable to legal challenge or require compensation to be paid to landlords”. Mr Noonan said the note covered situations where tenants of Nama debtors could show the rents they were paying were in excess of current market levels and, as a result, the viability of their businesses was threatened. “In such circumstances, tenants were given an opportunity to seek Nama’s approval for rent reductions,” said the Minister. In a written Dáil response to Fianna Fáil’s finance spokesman Michael McGrath, Mr Noonan said: “Nama points out that, prior to issuing the guidance note, it had received and approved a substantial number of applications for rent abatements which it had processed on an informal basis. Read more.