You should always start a negotiation with what you really need, based on what your business can support, not what you think the other side might want or perceive as being reasonable. They will have the opportunity to respond… it’s a negotiation!
Discuss your current situation and plans for reopening with your landlord. They want to know what you are doing to stay in business and succeed in the future. This information also helps them with their lenders.
Based on your personal assessment of your business, you must decide how much you can afford to pay, due to losses in revenue.
Best practices shared by other business owners and landlords indicate that landlords are negotiating three months of deferral, meaning tenants will have to pay the three months after they reopen.
Some landlords who may have the financial means are allowing for some free rent or discounting the three months deferral to be paid later.
Some landlords are aware that tenants will not have the full three months of back rent available right after reopening and are willing to negotiate payments amortized through the remainder of the lease.