The Government announced on 16 June 2021 that the existing moratorium on forfeiture of leases which was due to expire on 30 June 2021 will be extended until 25 March 2022.
The Government have also announced that legislation will be introduced that will ring-fence outstanding unpaid commercial rent arrears that have accrued throughout the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The current proposal to be confirmed in forthcoming legislation is that an arbitration process will be established in order to allow landlords and tenants to work together to come to a formal agreement in respect of any pandemic related arrears. This arbitration process will be delivered by private arbitrators in accordance with the guidelines set out in the legislation.
The Government’s announcement can be found in full here.
For further information about these updates, please contact Nick Billingham or Thomas Molony.
