Covid 19 Updates

In March this year, the government placed a moratorium on forfeiture proceedings for commercial leases, where the landlord was forfeiting the lease for non-payment of rent. The moratorium has now been extended until 31 March 2021. The government’s announcement states this is a “final extension”.

The restriction on commercial landlords using Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) to recover unpaid rent has also been extended to 31 March 2021 to coincide with the moratorium’s expiry date. Please see the previous newsletter which can be found here which details the temporary changes to the rent arrears requirements under the CRAR regime. The CRAR documents remain suitable for use, but landlords should note the rent arrears requirements.

A temporary measure introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act, which restricts the landlord’s ability to serve statutory demands and winding-up petitions as a means of recovering rent arrears, has also been extended to the 31 March 2021.

Alongside these extensions the government has also announced a review of commercial landlord and tenant legislation in early 2021 to ensure that the legislative framework reflects the current economic conditions.