Industry bodies call for extension of protection from rent enforcement activity until at least October

Industry bodies have called on the government to extend protection for businesses from rent enforcement activity until at least October.

UKHospitality, the British Independent Retailers Association and Ukactive, which together represent more 80,000 businesses, have written to the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, Robert Jenrick, to extend the moratorium of forfeiture ahead of the next quarterly rent date on 24 June.

The moratorium, which as it stands, would end on 30 June, protects tenants from legal proceedings such as statutory demand notices, winding up orders and commercial rent arrears recovery where they have been unable to make payments due to Covid-19.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: “The stand-off over rent is perhaps the biggest threat to the future of the UK’s hospitality sector.

“The majority of businesses have had virtually no income for months, but are still being chased by a minority of landlords over rent.

“Some businesses have no way of paying, but are still being pushed right at the moment when we are trying to plan the reopening of the sector.

“We need to find a solution that benefits both landlords and tenants and enables us all to share in the pain that the crisis has caused. If we are going to find a workable solution then we need time; time to plan, reopen and negotiate.”

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