Final extension to commercial tenant eviction ban announced

The government has announced that the current ban on evicting commercial tenants for non-payment of rent has been extended, for what is described as the final time, until 31 March 2021.  The government has also announced that it will publish guidance to support negotiations between landlords and tenants regarding rent arrears shortly.

In addition, the restrictions currently in place relating to statutory demands and winding up petitions will also be extended until 31 March, as will the restriction on landlords using Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) to recover unpaid rent.

Mark Steggles, Partner in the Property Litigation Team at Thomson Snell & Passmore, comments, “this extension was anticipated and will provide further respite for struggling businesses.  However, there remains a mountain of debt in terms of accrued rent arrears that some businesses will never be able to repay.  It will be interesting to see how resolving this difficult issue is addressed in the guidance that is still to be published”.

These comments first appeared in Mortgage Introducer https://www.mortgageintroducer.com/government-extends-ban-evicting-commercial-tenants/