Most stores at the Toronto Eaton Centre aren't paying their rent

The Eaton Centre has become a retail dead zone, and according to the shopping mall, up to 75 per cent of their stores haven't paid rent. 

What is usually one of the busiest malls in North America has been boarded up and closed since March 24, save for a few essential retailers still operating during the pandemic. 

The closures have meant a massive hit to a retail sector that has struggled comparatively to online sales. Recently the Cadillac Fairvew-owned shopping mall confirmed that, this month, only 20 to 25 per cent of tenants paid their rent. 

"Cadillac Fairview recognizes that many of our retail clients are facing economic challenges," said a CF spokesperson. 

Late last month, the not-for-profit association Retail Council of Canada (RCC) called on landlords across the country, including mall owners, to provide some form of rent relief measure for tenants during the pandemic. 

Cadillac Fairvew says they've deferred rent for April and will continue to do so in May for "a significant amount" of the Eaton Centre's retail clients, though they wouldn't specify for how many of their 235 stores and services.