Another 3 month extension of protection from eviction for businesses

Published: 11/12/2020
Written by Curwens Solicitors

The ban on eviction was coming to an end on 31 December but it is not surprising that the Government has extended this yet again for another 3 months until the end of March 2021.  This was published yesterday on the Government’s Website.

This does not give tenants a rent holiday, but more time to negotiate with their Landlord on repayment of the rent arrears.   The Government’s guidance to tenants is “to pay the rent where you can”.  Unfortunately, both commercial tenants and Landlords are finding it extremely difficult due to lack of income, which is close to reaching one year since the first national lockdown in March this year. 

The use of Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery is also banned for the time being until the end of March 2021. 

Despite these bans,  rent is fully payable for this period and businesses should not use the pandemic as an excuse to avoid paying rent as in the long term, the rent arrears will build up to a figure which may be more difficult to settle in the future. 

Businesses have access to further financial assistance from the Government, which Landlords do not.  This should compensate businesses for their losses and help them to pay towards the rent arrears (even if a part of these) and businesses should make a real effort to mitigate their losses by using these funds wherever possible.

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 is now in need of urgent review given that situations like the current pandemic are not provided for under this Act.  We will wait to hear further from the Government in the New Year with their review on this piece of legislation. 

Please contact the Property Litigation team at Curwens on 020 8363 4444 for guidance and advice on Landlord and Tenant matters.

Please note that our briefings are for informational purposes only, and do not constitute legal advice.

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