As the economic crisis brought on by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic deepens, commercial landlords would be wise to review the deposit language contained in their leases with their counsel. In particular, the wording of the rent deposit and security deposit provisions should be examined more closely and consideration given to who would be entitled to the deposit in the context of a tenant bankruptcy.

The latest news and developments in retail mortgage lending and regulation.

This month in summary:

News

Government updates on the pandemic

There have been a number of updates that will affect lenders in respect of the pandemic. The key stories are:

Last week, in our first of what we expect to be many articles in the series “Bankruptcy On Ice”, we wrote about the unprecedented suspensions of proceedings enacted in several major chapter 11 bankruptcies in response to the temporary store closures and critical protective measures being imposed to fight the spread of COVID-19.

As April rent came due, we armed you with what New York landlords and property managers need to know to formulate their business strategy. (Click here to see Part 1.) Payment of rent on April 1 turned out to be a mixed bag, with some properties experiencing a high level of payment or partial payment and some not. Payment of May rent is expected to be worse than April.

In this Part 2, we update you as the pandemic continues.

On 15 April 2020, the Federal Court provided the Administrators of Colette with relief from personal liability with respect to the company’s lease obligations.

Colette entered administration in February 2020, prior to the Coronavirus pandemic in Australia. In early March 2020, Administrators noticed sales had begun to substantially decline which had resulted in the company operating at a loss. The decline in sales dropped even further following the Government’s announcements regarding social isolation measures.

Editor’s Note: This was originally published in CFO.com on April 21, 2020.

On 20 April 2020, Singapore’s Ministry of Law announced the commencement of Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act (the “Act”)  and the regulations for businesses and individuals to comply with (the “Regulations”) in order to seek a temporary suspension of eligible contractual obligations for an initial relief period between 20 April 2020 and 19 October 2020 (referred to as the “Relief Period”).

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, US bankruptcy courts have granted extraordinary equitable relief in some cases. As government orders enforcing stay-at-home measures have forced many businesses to shutter indefinitely, bankruptcy courts have implemented procedures to allow the ongoing—albeit virtual—administration of bankruptcy cases.

A Roll of the Dice: Mothballing Bankruptcy Cases Under 11 USC § 305(a)

Re Debenhams Retail Limited [2020] EWHC 921 (Ch)

The Situation: In the past few weeks, due to the severe impact of the COVID-19 crisis on non-essential businesses forced to close and terminate employees after filing for chapter 11 protection, bankruptcy courts have been confronted with requests by debtors to temporarily suspend their bankruptcy cases using the courts' equitable powers and a seldom-used provision of the Bankruptcy Code: 11 U.S.C. § 305(a).