Court rules that Gap owes Kingston landlord more than $200,000 in unpaid rent

A court has ruled that Gap owes more than $200,000 in unpaid rent to a Kingston landlord after closing up shop in the city last year.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled in favour of the Braebury Development Corporation in late August.

After operating a Gap store on Princess Street since the early ’90s, the corporation decided to shut down the location in May 2020 due to the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to court documents, the Gap did not pay rent for April or May 2020, and only made partial rent payments from June 2020 to September 2020.

The company permanently closed the store and left the property in September 2020.

The Gap argued that it did not have to pay the $208,000 in arrears because of the burdens caused by the pandemic, but the court disagreed with that argument.

Braebury did not respond to a request for comment.