Covid-19 and Business Tenancies

What the law says is that tenants who do not pay rent cannot be evicted for non-payment during the “relevant period” (currently to 30 June 2020). The law does not relieve tenants from their obligation to pay rent but merely prevents landlords from evicting tenants who do not pay. There is however nothing in the legislation to prevent landlords from enforcing payment by some other method. For example bailiffs can be instructed to seize possession of the tenant’s goods and equipment or the tenant could be served with a statutory demand as a prelude to bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings. There is also nothing to prevent landlords from evicting tenants for breach of some other covenant in the lease.Immediately on expiry of the relevant period the landlord is free to forfeit the tenant’s lease without notice by exercising a right of re-entry. It is therefore in a tenant’s interest to negotiate a sensible arrangement with the landlord with a view to spreading payment of the rent bearing in mind that on expiry of the relevant period another quarter’s rent will be due. 

Immediately on expiry of the relevant period the landlord is free to forfeit the tenant’s lease without notice by exercising a right of re-entry. It is therefore in a tenant’s interest to negotiate a sensible arrangement with the landlord with a view to spreading payment of the rent bearing in mind that on expiry of the relevant period another quarter’s rent will be due.