Site Centers collected only 50 percent of its rents by dollar amount for April, CEO David Lukes said on the firm’s first-quarter earnings call. “While not absolute, the rents collected are generally from open tenants.” About 88 percent of unpaid April rent is from national tenants or national franchise units, he added. “We are working with select tenants to defer rent where there’s an economic return to Site Centers, but we expect to enforce our legal contracts with respect to the obligations of the remaining tenants.”

May rent collection remains even murkier. “The normal payment program for rent is out the window,” Lukes said. “We were receiving April rent as recently as two days ago, so and that's obviously 20 days beyond the final due date. I honestly don't know.”

The firm has not yet negotiated rent workouts with any of its anchor tenants, he added. “Over the course of the next month, I do think there will be a lot of conversations. There are lots of ways that a retailer could make an offer to a landlord to trade a short-term gain for a long-term gain.”

Site Centers and other landlords might cut deals on rent for tenants willing to drop lease options, provisions and triggers like prohibited and restricted uses. For example, an anchor might have a use restriction that prohibits the landlord from adding a gym or a cannabis use in the center. “We’re not interested in forgiving rent simply for the sake of a relationship. What we are interested in doing is helping our tenants get back open.”

The REIT, which owns interests in 170 shopping centers, has helped some needy local tenants stay afloat during COVID-19. “As is common during a recessionary period, local stores often seek financial assistance from property owners, as they have limited access to short-term financing and many times, landlords’ assistance is … a good solution to help them through a difficult time,” Lukes said. “When we receive a request from a local tenant, a detailed application is completed that shares historical tax returns, proof of required insurance and evidence of cash availability.”

To date, Site Centers has executed 98 payment plans as part of its COVID-19 Rental Assistance Program. Those plans represent 1.9 percent of the firm’s second-quarter rent. “These payment plans do not modify any other terms of the lease but instead simply defer the rent owed for a few months and are expected to be repaid before the end of the year,” Lukes said. “We will likely see more applications in the coming months and will make decisions based on the tenant’s financial position and our willingness to extend short-term credit.” Locally owned shops make up about 7 percent of the company’s total base rent, he added.