LEGAL
By Robert Trench, Solicitor, Mayo Wynne Baxter
Coronavirus & key considerations for
COMMERCIAL LEASES THE PAST YEAR
The past 15 months have seen challenges for all individuals and businesses across all sectors because of the coronavirus. The resulting lockdowns impacted most commercial tenant’s businesses from the way they trade when they can open and even what they can sell, and many companies have had to close their doors for good. Over the last year or so, one of the main concerns for commercial tenants is “do I have to pay my rent even though I am not permitted to trade?”
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The short answer is – yes. However, whilst the Government introduced various measures to help businesses in these testing times, the rent payable under a commercial lease (arguably one of the most significant overheads for any business after wages) was not provided for in the package of support measures. A commercial lease is a contract between the landlord and the tenant to, amongst other things, pay rent as and when the lease dictates.
