RE: A COMPANY (INJUNCTION TO RESTRAIN PRESENTATION OF PETITION)
Short Read:
Despite the law not yet being in force, the High Court has this week granted an unnamed high street retailer an injunction preventing one of its landlord creditors from presenting a winding-up petition against it on the expectation that the restrictions in the Bill will shortly be enacted.
Traditionally, Midsummer’s Day marks a time for festivities and optimism. But, as 24th June approaches, commercial landlords and tenants are unlikely to enjoy such sanguinity.
This article was first published by CoStar News on 5 June 2020 and can be seen here.
Following the posting of the article I co-wrote with Morayo Fagborun-Bennett on the Recovery of Commercial and Residential Rent Arrears, there have been a couple of developments of note.
For the past several months, businesses across the country have grappled with the question of whether the pandemic and local “stay at home” or “shelter in place” orders aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 trigger force majeure clauses in their leases and other contracts. In one of the first cases to consider this question, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois held in In re Hitz Restaurant Group that a restaurant tenant was entitled to a rent reduction under its force majeure clause due to Illinois Gov. J.B.
Whilst the government has taken significant steps to help protect businesses from collapsing as a result of the current pandemic, it is evident that companies across the board are acutely aware that such protection cannot last forever.
The landlord argued that the force majeure clause did not apply at all for three primary reasons. The Bankruptcy Court rejected each of the landlord’s arguments.
This advisory outlines the various options available to landlords after service of a statutory demand on a tenant and the tenant does not pay the debt. It also summarises the general processes, costs, advantages and disadvantages of each option. These options include:
Questions from a landlord's perspective
My Tenant has asked for a rent holiday. I want to help them out at this time - how can I facilitate this?
Most landlords and tenants are working well together to reach agreement in respect of rent, either moving rental payments to monthly rather than quarterly in advance, or deferring rental obligations for a specified period. It is obviously preferable, but not necessarily essential, to have such arrangements documented in writing, as follows:
- With tenant closures and lease defaults on the rise in the wake of the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, tenant bankruptcy filings are a major concern for landlords across the real estate industry.
- As courts of equity, bankruptcy courts not only consider the specific facts and circumstances of each case but also, because of the overriding goal of reorganization in bankruptcy, may subordinate other legal rights and policies.