Traders in Shock - Rent for Stalls at Riga Central Market Suddenly Doubles

Starting next year, some tenants of the Riga Central Market will face a sharp increase in stall fees — up to 85%. Traders are outraged by the lack of negotiations and warnings, while the municipal enterprise explains the increase by the costs of maintaining the pavilions.

Andrey Karvatsky, the owner of several stalls at the Riga Central Market, says that this year he pays rent of 42 euros per square meter for a space in the Gastronomic Pavilion. Starting January 1, it will be 75 euros. Traders were prepared for a rent increase, as there was one last year — however, no one expected it to be so drastic.

“A couple of days ago, I received an email stating that the rent is increasing almost twofold — by 85%. No one informed us about this. We were presented with the fact that we must come and sign a new lease agreement. We are all just confused — we don’t know what to do next, how to continue working. When we saw these numbers — we were scared. You understand — it’s double!

This means I have to raise the prices of my products. If I raise prices and want to remain competitive with others — I have to lower the quality of the products, and if I lower quality, I will lose my customers.

Again, if I lose quality, our foreign guests, when they come and try our products, will say — well, the food is not tasty in Latvia. What kind of country is this with such bad food? We still have to pay taxes. Each of our stalls has 4-5 employees. Some have up to 10,” explained Andrey Karvatsky.

According to the new rates, there are separate units in other pavilions whose owners are much luckier — there, the rent price will not change. There are places where prices will rise — but not as significantly. What is the reason for the differences? A representative of Rīgas Nami explained this to LSM+. “This difference depends on the current condition of these pavilions, how much investment is needed to maintain them. The pricing methodology takes into account maintenance costs, upkeep, location of the stalls, and seasonality. The basis for determining the rent price is the cost price.”

Owners of various units in the Gastronomic Pavilion, who spoke with LSM+, assert that such a rent increase was not discussed with them. Moreover, on the Central Market's website, one can find the terms of the lease agreement for the trading space, which includes the following clause: “The landlord has the right to unilaterally change the amount of rent for the trading space for the next calendar year, making this decision by November 15 of each year and notifying the Tenant in writing,” states the document. However, according to publicly available information, the new prices were approved on November 25 — that is, 10 days after the deadline. The municipal company managing the central market could not explain this.