The Grand Court of the Cayman Islands (the "Grand Court") recently considered the statutory moratorium against commencing proceedings against a Cayman Islands company which has been placed into liquidation. In the case of BDO Cayman Ltd. and BDO Trinity Ltd. v Ardent Harmony Fund Inc.
Rumours that a company is in the zone of insolvency may create a race to the assets, with potential creditors or interested parties commencing proceedings in an attempt to secure payment from the company before its assets are fully dissipated or tied up in the insolvency process. This can destroy the collective value in the enterprise or scupper a restructuring and result in significant duplicative costs.
1. Can I lock the tenant out of the property until they pay?
No. If a tenant has been placed in administration then there will be a moratorium in place. This gives a company some breathing space. Rights against the company, such as forfeiture or conducting legal proceedings, can only be pursued with either the consent of the administrator or a court order. As noted last week, changing the locks is likely to forfeit the lease. Unless you intend to forfeit and obtain the necessary permission to do so, you should not change the locks.