A new law is now in place to help resolve certain remaining commercial rent debts accrued because of the pandemic. The ‘Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022’ received Royal Assent last week. This means that a legally binding arbitration process will be available for eligible commercial landlords and tenants who have not already reached an agreement. This will resolve disputes about certain pandemic-related rent debt and help the market return to normal as quickly as possible.
The law applies to commercial rent debts of businesses including 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 at other times will not be in scope.
The law came into force last week in England and Wales.
For more information and assistance for you and your business, contact Andy Pear or a member of the Moorfields team. Moorfields, a Beavis Morgan group company, specialises in providing exceptional advice around restructuring, recovery and insolvency solutions for businesses and individuals, delivering tailored strategies with the aim of preserving stakeholder value.
See: New law to resolve remaining COVID-19 commercial rent debts now in place – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)