Survey: Half of Florida small businesses late on rent in June

It’s not just the weather on the Gulf Coast hitting peak heat. Unfortunately for small business owners, all the wrong numbers are climbing up and causing financial heat waves resulting in rental delinquencies. 

Business networking platform Alignable releases a monthly Rent and Revenue report based on a survey of several thousand small business owners. June’s report revealed that of 3,690 surveyed, 46% of small business owners couldn’t cover rent, marking the highest rates for the third consecutive month. The last time the number was higher was in March 2021, when the amount of rent delinquencies was 49%. 

The Sunshine State is faring worse than the national average as well, the report found, with 54% of respondents reporting delinquencies, up seven points from the previous month. Florida ranks the second worst in the nation for delinquency rates behind Texas, which tops out at 58% of owner delinquencies.

Regarding rent, 56% reported an increase in payments required by their landlords. With 72% of owners reporting lower revenues than pre-COVID numbers, the economic outlook remains bleak for many: Only 28% of small business owners can say they’ve recovered from the pandemic, the survey found. 

More challenges come from interest rates and high costs. A majority of respondents, for one, say the interest rate is affecting margins, with 55% noting the higher rate decreases consumer spending and makes it more difficult to pay off loans. 

Additionally, inflation and labor costs continue to be top concerns, with 35% of respondents reporting inflation as their biggest concern and 79% responding their employees are paid more this year over last year. 

One positive data point is the decreasing cost of fuel, which provides relief for transportation, manufacturing and tourism industries, the report found. 

Alignable, which bills itself as the largest AI-powered business networking platform for small business owners in the U.S. and Canada, with over 9 million members, established a research center in March 2020 to track and report the impact of and recovery from COVID on small businesses.