FOUR industry groups are banding together to combat rising rentals.

In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, the Singapore Retailers Association, the Restaurant Association of Singapore, the Singapore Jewellers Association said they will be sharing information and creating 'a common stance' on several matters.

They single out rental costs as their members' "biggest burden" in the current downturn.

They claimed that they had made "repeated pleas" to landlords to offer rental rebates but these had gone unheeded. Instead, some landlords even want to raise rent, they said.

They also accused landlords of brokering "less than favourable one-sided lease terms and practices."

"Shop closures and empty shop units, and associated staff retrenchments, are something that we now face given the current downturn and occupancy environment we are operating in, and we agree to work together to avoid these closures and preserve jobs to the best of our abilities," said the four bodies in their joint statement.

The Singapore Retailers' Association has been asking for reduction of rental rates since the start of the economic downturn, and issued its latest public call for a 20 to 30 per cent in rent cut three weeks ago in an emergency meeting.