After much speculation, on 15 September 2020 the UK Government further extended protections to business tenants in England. Current COVID-19 protections for commercial tenants Currently, commercial tenants benefit from various protections arising from the COVID-19 pandemic such as the temporary ban on landlords forfeiting commercial leases as a result of non-payment of rent, and a requirement for at least 189 days of unpaid rent to be outstanding before Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) may take place. The temporary prohibition on forfeiture was due to end on 30 September 2020. What has changed? Section 82 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 prevents landlords from using a right of re-entry to bring a business tenancy to an end on the basis of non-payment of rent during the “relevant period” as defined in the legislation. The “relevant period” has now been extended to come to … Continue reading →