The Covid-19 pandemic saw an increasing number of commercial tenants struggling to pay their rent, with arrears estimated to be at £9bn by March 2022. This mainly related to businesses in retail and hospitality like pubs, restaurants, cafes, and shops that were subject to mandatory government closures to reduce transmission of Covid-19 during the pandemic.
To help struggling commercial tenants, the government announced a temporary freeze on commercial evictions until 24th March 2022, which introduced a legally binding arbitration process for eligible commercial landlords and tenants who had not already reached an agreement on pandemic-related rent debts. Firms who had applied through the arbitration process were protected until the 24th September 2022.
From the 24th March 2022, the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022 came into force, which applied to any business adversely affected by mandatory closure orders during the pandemic in England and Wales. It sits alongside a new commercial rent code of practice.