The only was to let landlords know you’re a dissatisfied tenant is to tell them

Retailers often complain they’re unsatisfied with their treatment by their landlords, and over a breadth of reasons, ranging from lease lengths and upward only rent reviews through to service charges, commercialisation and consent for sublettings.

Many of the complaints are justified, and regular readers will know I’m no apologist for the landlord community, but there is a will among the more responsible high street, shopping centre and retail park owners to be seen as responsive to their retail tenants complaints and willing to try harder.

Last year the Occupier Satisfaction Survey, which the British Council for Shopping Centres is one of the participants in, recorded a score of only 4.9 out of 10 for satisfaction with landlords, with smaller tenants less happy than large ones.

This year’s survey is now open and the BCSC is keen to get retailers to respond, which you can do here. The relationship between retailers and their landlords is always going to have its tensions - that’s the nature of a tough commercial relationshop - but there is an eagerness to embrace best practice and that can’t be a bad thing.