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COVID-19: Government extends protections for business tenants

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The government has announced this afternoon (Friday 19 June 2020) that the protection from forfeiture given to relevant business tenants under s82 of the Coronavirus Act will be extended until 30 September 2020. The measures were originally due to expire on 30 June 2020.

Read our previous article for more information on s82.

The temporary changes to Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) will be extended similarly to 30 September, and will also now prevent landlords exercising CRAR unless at least 189 days’ rent is outstanding.

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (which has cleared the House of Commons and is currently progressing through the House of Lords) will also be amended to extend the moratorium on the statutory demand/winding-up route to 30 September.

The government has at the same time published a voluntary Code of Practice for commercial landlords and tenants (which appears to have considerable industry backing), which encourages transparency and collaboration.

Read the government press release (which includes a link to the Code of Practice).

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