Increased number of alarms leads to transformation of commercial relations between tenants and SEC management companies, UTG company director Evgenia Loktionova told Interfax-Ukraine.

The security factor is becoming critical for the functioning of SECs, there are already cases when tenants argue the termination of the lease agreement with the lack of shelters. For example, TUTO VZUTO announced the closure of its only offline store (in the Lavina SEC, the last day of operation is September 30).

“There is no clear trend towards mass legal termination of contracts for this very reason, but there is a deep transformation of commercial relations and migration of tenants. Instead of loud terminations of contracts, retailers are using other tools – discounts, switching to a percentage of turnover or “quiet migration” to shopping malls with shelters,” Loktionova reported.

For example, tenants in SECs without underground parking or their own certified shelters are demanding significant discounts from developers. The market standard has become to take into account idle hours: rent for the time when the SEC was closed due to an alarm is either not charged at all or is calculated at a special reduced rate.

The trend towards a percentage of turnover has intensified. Tenants are rewriting contracts, minimizing the fixed rate (Slightly Fix) and switching to a % of actual turnover. If the store does not earn due to alarms, the landlord also receives the minimum.

Some tenants choose a “quiet exit” – not premature termination, but refusal to extend.

“When the contract term is coming to an end, retailers (especially large clothing and electronics chains, which are very dependent on stable traffic) simply do not extend it if the facility is unattractive in terms of safety, and move to competitors with underground levels,” the expert explains.

As reported by URTC, August 2026 set a record for the share of shopping center working hours during which air alarms sounded – 21.8%. In Kyiv, where the lion’s share of large shopping centers is concentrated, in July the share of working hours during alarms was 3.3%, in August – 11.6%. The record day was August 27, when in Kyiv the share of alarms reached 68.0% of the SC’s working hours, which is a critically high indicator for most retail operators.