25/04/2022
Resolving commercial rent debts
The Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022 is a new law that aims to resolve the remaining commercial rent debts accrued during the pandemic, which has received Royal Assent on 24 March 2022.
The new law introduces a legally binding arbitration process to resolve certain outstanding commercial rent debts related to the pandemic i.e. pubs, gyms and restaurants which were mandated to close, in full or in part, from March 2020 until the date restrictions ended for their sector. Debts accrued outside these times will not be in scope.
Before using the process, landlords and tenants are strongly encouraged to negotiate agreements using the Commercial rents code of practice that was published in November 2021.
The general moratorium on commercial evictions and restrictions on Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) in England and Wales also ended on 24 March 2022, but protection remains for the next 6 months during which arbitration can be applied for or until the conclusion of an arbitration. The moratorium gave organisations breathing space to negotiate rent debts caused by the pandemic before the new law came into place.
For more information on this, contact Tom Young on 023 8046 1254.
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