How to Handle Real Estate Lease Challenges as a Result of COVID-19

Many occupiers that now find themselves in challenging financial circumstances are opening discussions with their landlords as to possible relief from rental payments. There are no rules as to how matters may be revised. Some tenants have sought an agreement not to pay the 25 March and / or 24 June Quarter Day rent. That is not to say that they are necessarily seeking a complete waiver but an ability to pay later.

This could be arranged by say, increasing the rents payable on the, September and December Quarter Days to make up the shortfall on the calendar year but any sort of payment restructuring is possible. Other approaches may be to move temporarily onto monthly payments or perhaps waive one or more quarter’s rent and add it to the end of the lease.

A more complicated restructuring might involve the grant of a rent-free period in return for a higher headline rent until the next rent review or maybe amending covenants in the lease which will be of benefit to the landlord.

通常，经验表明，如果实际上处于困境，许多房东都可以帮助他们的租户。话虽如此，投资者通常对贷方负有责任，因此他们并不是所有人都可以提供帮助，并且将渴望在可能的情况下保持租金收入。

值得牢记的是，有些房东不是投资者，而是实际上是有转身盈余空间的头租户。在这种情况下，不同的标准将适用，重组协议的范围较小。占领租户的不付款可能会阻止租户支付其在上游房东的租金。在某个问题上，对租赁安排的任何更改通常都需要房东的同意，因此可以延迟甚至阻止重组协议。

If you are engaged in current rent review negotiations, the advent of COVID-19 presents an opportunity for both landlords and tenants to revisit the relationship and reach a settlement of mutual benefit. This could involve a wider restructure of the lease.

Leases generally do not allow a tenant to withhold rent except under certain circumstances such as the premises being damaged or destroyed by an insured risk.

似乎不太可能因企业19号而没有身体损害而导致的财产关闭，这对于租户停止付款是有效的理由租。从技术上讲，选择停止支付租金的房客是违反租约的。The rent is not waived under the Coronavirus Act and a tenant will be expected to make good any arrears by agreement with their landlord. In most cases late payment of rent will incur interest.

Albeit precluded temporarily in most circumstances from using traditional remedies for non-payment of rent (see comments under “legislation”), including forfeiture, a landlord may opt instead to pursue any guarantor, or could draw down on a rent deposit in lieu of payment if that is in place.

政府最近扩大了英格兰现有的零售利率救济计划，并在苏格兰和威尔士引入了类似的扩展。救济已针对零售，款待和休闲部门，这导致了2020/21的需求减少到零。

Unfortunately to date the government has not introduced any new reliefs to assist office occupiers. However, with change comes opportunity and we believe it may be possible for office occupiers to reduce their rates liability. We have taken counsel’s opinion which supports our view and as a result we are recommending that properties are appealed and a review of the office occupation during this period is undertaken. We recommend that this action is taken immediately.

Occupiers may have business interruption insurance. If so it is possible that the Government’s order effectively closing buildings under the current emergency might trigger a valid claim.

Occupiers should check with their landlord or their agents, as well as the terms of their lease, to understand what obligations need to be fulfilled in relation to security, occupation and notification.

大多数租约都包含各方必须遵守所有法定指令的规定，因此，如果政府有效下令关闭建筑物，则可能会对诸如“保持开放”条款等规定产生影响。

租赁通常不包含不可抗力条款。

Such provisions relate to the occurrence of specific events (e.g. an earthquake) and in those circumstances the contract may be affected or even terminated. However, the impact of COVID-19 is not a specific event but an unfolding pandemic and so it is unlikely to fall into the definition of force majeure and create a ground for the waiver of rent. Similarly, it is unlikely to allow the suspension of services by a landlord unless there are specific exclusions in the lease.

The Government passed the emergency Coronavirus Act on 25 March 2020.

Specific provisions relating to commercial leases provide that a right of forfeiture for non-payment of rent cannot be enforced during the “relevant period“. Currently that runs until 30 June 2020 but it may be extended subject to the longevity of the virus. As things stand the liability to pay rent on both the 25 March Quarter Day and the 24 June Quarter Day are covered. In the legislation rent is defined as “any sum a tenant is liable to pay under any relevant business tenancy”. Therefore, service charges and insurance are also likely to be included.

政府还宣布将采取临时措施，以保护商业租户的积极债务回收率。
法定要求和清盘请愿书将被禁止，并且不允许使用Crar（商业租金欠款）。

沮丧的合同是法律的方法llowing parties to be relieved of their legal obligations under a contract where it has become impossible to perform. Typically, an event has occurred which is unprovided for in the lease and significantly alters the parties’ obligations thereby bringing the lease to an end.

因挫败感终止租约的标准很高。在最近的Canary Wharf诉欧洲药品局2019年的案件中，法院裁定英国退欧并没有挫败租约，EMA仍然承担责任。

因此，租户似乎不太可能认为，在当前法律先例的情况下，Covid-19的出现使租约感到沮丧。

Where a tenant holds a lease contracted outside the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954, which means it does not have security of tenure, and is planning to vacate on or before the contractual expiry date but prevented physically from doing so by the virus, it may need to discuss with the landlord an appropriate temporary extension.

If a landlord incurs additional costs in running your building or a surrounding estate, such as deep cleaning or the provision of sanitising equipment, those costs will generally be recoverable under the service charges.

However, during the course of the pandemic buildings have seen security and maintenance staff laid off and are not being serviced to the usual extent. Therefore, savings may be available to occupiers when service charge accounts are reconciled and audited in due course.

Current circumstances give landlords and their managing agents the opportunity to review current levels of service charge expenditure to see if reductions can be made due to low, or non-occupancy of buildings. Items can include utilities, cleaning, non-essential services and maintenance, and in some instances staff members being furloughed. However, it should be noted that generally buildings cannot be completely shut down due to the complexity of the plant and machinery but running times can be revised. Each service charge assessment needs to be looked at on a building-by-building basis, and will be subject to further review as phased or full occupancy measures are put in place.