The Commercial Rent Bill: A Last Resort for Pandemic-Related Losses

Two years, almost to the date, from the start of COVID-19 restrictions, the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill received Royal Assent. The Act creates a mechanism to address the issue of rent arrears accrued during the pandemic between certain landlords and tenants in the commercial real estate sector. But it is by no means a quick and easy solution and the length and expense of the arbitration process suggests that Government intends parties to use it only as a last resort.