The letter outlines detailed arguments against continuing to pay quarterly rents in advance.
The BRC said the letter can be used as a template by its members to approach their landlords and argue that they accept payments monthly on existing leases.
The letter says: “Over the past year we have seen several very well-known retailers, and many smaller businesses, disappear from the high street due to adverse trading conditions resulting from serious cost inflation (labour, rent, rates and utilities) eroding margins and of course the impact of severe contractions in the credit markets.”
It goes on to argue that by accepting rent monthly landlords would “make cash flow management significantly easier.”
The BRC has long argued that the practice of quarterly rent payment is archaic and based on medieval practices that are today forcing retailers to pay over the odds.
Current trading conditions and the uphill struggle many retailers are facing to meet next week’s due date for the next quarterly rent payment have giving the campaign fresh gravity.
A wave of retail administrations are expected in the new year, with more likely in the run up to March’s rent due date, which many are likely to find even tougher to pay.
BRC director-general Stephen Robertson said: “The BRC has made significant progress in establishing monthly rents as the norm but today’s tough trading conditions mean the impact of paying three months in advance is that much greater.
“Seeing retailers driven to the wall is in no-one’s interest. By agreeing to a fairer rents regime, landlords will be contributing to the retail prosperity on which they themselves depend.”
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