Merchant Land responds to the Government’s commercial rents ‘Call for Evidence’

The British Property Federation recently launched a campaign designed to provide the Government with further evidence on the extensive support that has been provided for tenants and the pressure this continues to exert on property owners for all sizes. The evidence survey commission by the Government requested views on a series of options on the best way to withdraw or replace the moratorium on commercial lease evictions and the restrictions on the use of CRAR.

The Government consultation ended earlier this month and it will use the evidence to inform whether to extend still further the ban on evictions, statutory demands and winding up petitions (the moratoria), and how discussions on dealing with unpaid commercial rent should be managed.

Commercial property owners are supporting tenants in genuine distress – with rent write-offs, holidays, deferrals and new payment plans – but this has meant absorbing significant losses in rental income, with little or no direct support from the Government.

Merchant Land doesn’t believe that the restrictions should be extended beyond the end of June as we believe that meaningful conversations should be entered into sooner rather than later. As landlords we are full aware of the devastating impacts that COVID has had on commercial tenants and in order for everyone to re-build, balanced solutions need to developed for both sides.

You can follow the outcome of the evidence survey on the British Property Federation website https://bpf.org.uk/