Charles to let the tenants on the royal land

Prince Charles is offering some of his tenants reduced rent rates as they recover from the impact of the coronavirus lockdown.

Yahoo UK has learned that the Duchy of Cornwall will receive applications from commercial tenants for rent reductions, meaning they could get reduced rents or even rent-free periods.

The duchy previously offered tenants a rent holiday from March 22 to June 24 as they prepared for a quiet spring.

Under this deferral scheme, tenants would have had to eventually pay the rent, but would have had two interest-free years to do so.

The Duchy of Cornwall includes land in 21 counties, mostly in the south-west of England, and provides an income for the heir to the throne. Last year, Charles earned £22.2m from it.

News of the reduction comes as Charles, who is the Duke of Cornwall, sent a message to the duchy’s tenants to offer their support and praise the work of communities during the pandemic.

He said: “Now, although I must confess, feeling rather demoralized after hearing of some of these difficulties in the Duchy of Cornwall family, I was greatly encouraged to be told some of the many stories of unselfish behavior and goodwill around him. duchy estate.

“For example, The Brace of Butchers in Poundbury provides hard-to-reach meals to struggling families and, nearby, the Duchess of Cornwall pub’s Hall and Woodhouse deliver hot meals to NHS workers in various hospitals across Dorset over the Easter weekend .

“Then there were the new post office tenants up on Dartmoor at Postbridge who were not to be beaten by the restrictions and managed to stay open for a few hours a day and offered a new door delivery service.

“At farm level, one of our energetic and selfless new tenants from Herefordshire, Sam Stables, not only took a whole flock of Yorkshire sheep and made them for a friend affected by the virus, but also started an organization charity to help with mental health problems in the farming community.

“As you can imagine, I’m extremely proud of him.”

Read more: The private royal garden where the Queen grew vegetables in World War II is open to the public for the first time in 40 years

The Duchy of Cornwall estate has a net worth of £909 million. Charles is the longest-serving Duke of Cornwall, turning 50 last year.

The surplus is how Charles makes money and much of it goes to fund the work of other royals. For example, 95% of Prince Harry and Meghan’s funding has come from Charles through the duchy, and it is believed that it may still help them to some extent as they begin life in Los Angeles.

Last year, its revenue rose 3% to £22.2m, but there was a stark warning that it may not last.

Alastair Martin, Duchy Secretary and Record Keeper, said: “The trial resulting from COVID-19 was only in place for one week of the financial year covered by this report.

“There is therefore very limited financial impact on these results.”