To offer my shop tenant a reduced rent this month as she has been ill and how much

[ItsBeginingToLookAlotLikeChris]

I'm new to this as she is. Been in business a few months, beautician and she is ill in hospital.
I'm wondering about offering her a reduced rent but not sure how much, she pay 700a month and if it's a good idea.
I'd like to as a gesture of good will. However having a house lodger once who stopped paying rent and had loads of concessions I'm also aware of people taking the piss.

I really, really wouldn't.

A long-term renter going through a rough patch, maybe, but someone this early into a new business who's already having money issues...that's such a bad sign. Assuming she is in fact struggling, then either she's burned through her cash at an alarming rate or she's been silly enough to start a business with no safety net. Either way, it suggests someone who'll have no shortage of problems down the line.

Bail her out now and you're setting a precedent that can only come back to bite you.

Ideally I would want to offer this but I think I will wait until, if she asks.

I agree with this. If she tells you she is having problems paying then THAT is the moment to think of offering discounts.

You sound like a lovely person and when you do this your tenant will remember and pay it forward some time in the future.

Merry christmas!

Haven't read whole thread. But I think if you word it well (ie it's purely a one off kind gesture and related to her being ill so early in her business venture) then I think it is a good and kind idea. As a (reluctant) residential landlord, one thing that always stands out is that with the exception of bad tenants not paying rent/ needing eviction, the single biggest reason that I will lose income is through gaps in tenants. If you are able to help her and her business keep going then you reduce the risk of having to find a new tenant with a break in occupancy and the respective loss of income, so it could be a very astute business decision on your part.

I see that you've already decided. I hope it all goes well for you but I fear that this good deed will come back to haunt you in the future.

I do need her to succeed for at least a year......If she asks me next year then after a year I would consider her business to be failing and if she stopped paying rent I would start the eviction process however by then I would have a kitty built up, she has only been in a few months and I have had extra costs. If she went bust now I would be in trouble.

Maybe she runs her business better than you run yours.

You do seem to be dictating how she runs her business. She should have a sound business plan that covers eventualities such as illness. Your business on the other hands seems to be dependent on her.