Government launches survey on impact of coronavirus rent debt law

Hospitality businesses are being encouraged to take part in a government survey on resolving coronavirus rent debt.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is seeking views on the impact of a new law designed to help settle ongoing disputes over payment.

The Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill came into force in England and Wales on 24 March and put in place a legally binding arbitration process for eligible tenants and commercial landlords who have not yet reached an agreement.

It applies to businesses including restaurants, pubs and gyms, which were mandated to close, in full or in part, from March 2020 until the date restrictions ended for their sector.

Government twitter account @bizsupportgovuk wrote: “We want to make sure that affected businesses are heard.”

UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said over £7b in rent debt had accrued across all areas of the economy and encouraged hospitality operators to take part in the survey.

Nicholls added: “As our sector tries to recover, it’s imperative that rent debt is dealt with, otherwise it will hamstring our recovery.

“UKHospitality will produce detailed guidance for webinars on how tenants should approach the arbitration process, and we’ll be urging arbitrators that they should be seeking to preserve businesses and jobs, which will of course be vital to the hospitality sector’s efforts to lead the UK’s post-Covid economic recovery. At the same time, landlords should take a pragmatic approach to the arbitration process."

The new law was introduced the day before the rent moratorium protecting commercial tenants from eviction for not paying rent ended on 25 March. Operators had voiced fears a raft of hospitality venues could be forced to close after the moratorium ended after being unable to settle their rent debts.

The survey can be accessed here.

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