Business evictions ban extended until March 2021
Business owners will be protected from eviction, and insolvency measures restricting statutory demands and winding-up petitions have been extended, until the end of March 2021.
The restriction on landlords using Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) to recover unpaid rent will also automatically extend to the end of March, in line with the moratorium's expiry date.
Communities secretary Robert Jenrick has also announced a review of commercial landlord and tenant legislation, to address concerns that the current framework does not reflect the economic conditions. This review will consider how to enable better collaboration between commercial landlords and tenants and how to improve the leasing process.
Additional guidance published early next year will sit alongside the government's code of practice, published in June, to encourage all parties to work together.
UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: "This is a very welcome respite and it will be crucial in ensuring that more businesses do not fall off an immediate cliff-edge. Hospitality businesses that have been hammered all year long were staring down the barrel of mass failures and job losses without this.
"If it is to be the final extension to the moratoria, then it is absolutely crucial that it is followed swiftly by a cohesive and comprehensive package of recovery measures from the government. The focus now needs to turn to helping businesses begin to get back towards full strength and trade their way out of danger.
"An extension to the business rates holiday and VAT cut are a must, alongside loans to tenants where landlords have provided rent concessions.
"The government must facilitate a resolution to the problem of rent debt which has built up over a devastating year. The forthcoming enhancements to the Code of Practice must bring landlords to the table to find a solution. They cannot be allowed to simply wait until April in order to evict and wind-up businesses.
"The review of Commercial Property legislation, due to begin in the New Year, must also be delivered at pace. We have been calling for this for a long time and it needs to happen sooner rather than later if we hope to see more businesses benefit from it."
