Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022
2022
Yesterday was the last day of the general moratorium on commercial evictions and restrictions on Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) in England and Wales, but eligible firms remain protected for the next 6 months during which arbitration can be applied for or until the conclusion of an arbitration.
The window to apply for arbitration will be six months from the date legislation comes into force. Arbitrators may award a reduction of protected rent debt and/or time to pay, with a maximum period to repay of 24 months.
The legal arbitration process will be delivered by arbitrators appointed by approved arbitration bodies from a list of suitable and available arbitrators.
However, yesterday (24th March) the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022 received Royal assent.
The law is in place to help resolve certain remaining commercial rent debts accrued because of the pandemic, it is a legally binding arbitration process which will be available for eligible commercial landlords and tenants who have not already reached an agreement.
The legislation covers 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 covered by the provisions.
Business Minister Paul Scully said:
“This new law will give commercial tenants and landlords the ability to draw a line under the uncertainty caused by the pandemic so they can plan ahead and return to normality.
Landlords and tenants should keep working together to reach their own agreements where possible using our Code of Practice to help them, and we’ve made arbitration available as a last resort. Tenants who can repay their rent debts in full, should do so, and when they cannot, landlords should try to share the burden, so we can all move on.”
Please note Scotland has adopted an alternative approach to commercial evictions since the start of the pandemic, due to different property legislation and market conditions.