Onsite commercial property viewings could have happened throughout lockdown, the government has said.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government told EG that commercial property viewings were not halted by government regulations under lockdown, as “viewing potential properties for a business that is relocating is considered work”.
This is despite many property companies moving property viewings online over the course of lockdown. For example, BNP Paribas Real Estate saw virtual tours of commercial properties up 93% in the early days of May, compared with the first weeks in March before the UK went into lockdown.
Canning O’Neill director John Nash said it would have been helpful for the commercial property sector for government to have communicated to the industry that onsite viewings would not break lockdown rules, but that demand for onsite viewings has been low anyway.
“Clear guidance is always better than no guidance, and it would have been nice to have it passed down,” he said. “But we have still got to be cautious to make sure people don’t use it as a green light to flout social distancing rules.”
Capital & Centric co-founder Tim Heatley said: “I think the government could have been clearer. I don’t think they’ve done a bad job under the circumstances, but elements absolutely could have been clearer.”
Agents are now starting to ramp up plans to get their businesses back on track as lockdown measures start to ease.
Avison Young was among the first agents to confirm they would be resuming onsite viewings. UK president Jason Sibthorpe said onsite visits are “critical” and that the lack of visits occurring is “impacting all businesses right now in terms of generating revenue”.
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