News

A ban on possession proceedings involving commercial property

In addition to the provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020 further measures have been put in place to curtail, further, a landlord’s ability to regain possession of the commercial property.

The Coronavirus Act 2020 directs that:-

A right of re-entry or forfeiture for non-payment of rent may not be enforced until at least 30^th June 2020.
In respect of any cases currently before the Court enforce a right of re-entry or forfeiture, under a relevant business tenancy, for non-payment of rent, the Court must ensure that the tenant does not have to give possession of the property to the landlord before at least 30^th June 2020.
For the purposes a section 25 notice served by a landlord to determine a commercial lease for persistent delay in paying rent which has become due, any failure to pay rent under that tenancy from today until at least 30^th June 2020 is to be disregarded.

Following on from the making of the Act and as a result of “the Coronavirus pandemic and the need to ensure that the administration of justice, including the enforcement of orders, [are] carried out so as not to endanger public health”, Practice Direction 51Z “Stay of Possession Proceedings – Coronavirus” of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 has been introduced, meaning that the Court service has suspended all ongoing commercial property possession action – neither cases currently in the system or any about to go in to it can progress to the stage where the occupier could be evicted.

The suspension of commercial possession action will initially last until 25^th June 2020, but this can be extended if needed.

Tenants are still liable for their rent and should pay this as usual.

The effect of the latest provisions is an effective ban on any:-

possession claim following expiry of a lease (whether or not the lease is subject to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954) or licence;
possession claim based on a valid forfeiture clause (and, further, the provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020 mean that no landlord can effect peaceable reentry under a forfeiture clause);
possession claim against a trespasser (albeit may be taken seeking an injunction in respect of such squatters, but there is a query over how that order would be enforced, given that the Court is not able to carry out evictions at this stage.)