The Commercial Rent Bill: A Last Resort for Pandemic-Related Losses - Julia Tobbell writes for CoStar

Property Litigation Partner, Julia Tobbell, has written for CoStar News on The Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill and the end of the moratorium on tenant evictions.

Whilst the Act creates a mechanism to address the issue of rent arrears accrued during the pandemic, the length and expense of the arbitration process suggests that the Government intends parties to use it only as a last resort.

Tobbell says, “Ordinarily arbitration is a private process, which is attractive to many commercial parties. However, the Act allows either party to request an oral hearing in public, and awards must be published except for limited confidential information. This could be a powerful disincentive to proceeding down this route, as tenants will have their finances laid bare in a public forum.”

The article was first published in CoStar on April 6 2022 and can be read in full behind the paywall here.