Contract - Consideration

Question: In January 2019, Sondra signed a five-year lease with Westfeld for her hair and nail salon Minnie's in their mega-mall at Newtown. However, it soon became clear that the salon would not make the profit that Sondra expected to make due to the low foot traffic in the centre. Sondra contacted Westfeld to discuss this issue indicating that without a rent reduction Minnie's would not be able to continue to trade due to losses. 7 | P a g e After some heated discussion, on 1 June 2019 Westfeld agreed in writing to reduce the rent by 40%, the figure that Sondra suggested, for the remainder of the lease's term. Sondra has paid the reduced rent by the due date each month. In fact, the rent reduction came in handy when COVID-19 restrictions hit during 2020 and 2021 reducing traffic to the mall and her salon significantly. Following the lifting of all COVID-19 restrictions, with people desperate for haircuts, manicures and pedicures, Minnie's has been doing bumper trade. Westfeld Newtown has not been doing so well. COVID-19 restrictions have reduced retail traffic considerably as people have started buying online. Westfeld has recently sent a letter claiming the rent arrears from Sondra since June 2019.

Advise Sondra, whether she needs to pay the rent and why?