Ngee Ann City mall and its anchor tenant, department store Takashimaya, have gone to court to settle an argument about the rental rate.

The deadlock emerged in 2013 after a review of rental rates, reports The Straits Times. Ngee Ann wanted to more than double the rates to $19.83 a square foot a month. After this led to a series of disagreements, Ngee Ann decided to sue its long-standing tenant.

In 1993, the two parties signed a lease for 20 years, with Takashimaya entitled to six options to renew for 10 years at a time. Under the lease, the rental rate is to be reviewed every five years. If they cannot agree on the value, it will be determined by a valuer.

After Takashimaya exercised the first option in 2013, Ngee Ann proposed to more than double the original rate of $8.78 a sqft, proffering a valuation report based on a reconfigured layout that cut back the department store’s space to allow more room for speciality shops, which usually pay a higher rent.

Takashimaya rejected the report, and the parties agreed to each nominate one valuer and take the average of the two valuations. However, Ngee Ann told the valuers to use a hypothetical layout rather than the existing one. It did not advise Takashimaya, later saying this was an “administrative oversight”.

Ngee Ann’s suit is aimed at compelling Takashimaya to follow the agreement, while the department store contends that the rental value must be based on the existing configuration.