Arrears, eviction and enforcement: where are we now?

Posted: 03/03/2021

Donald Lambert, Michael Gerken and Kerra Jelbert summarise the current regulations affecting recovery of possession and of arrears in both the commercial and residential sectors, and look ahead to what the future may hold.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been with us now for over 12 months. At the time of writing, we are part way through the third national lockdown. The Government has indicated that schools should start reopening on 8 March 2021, but there is no indication of when non-essential retail will reopen or when the directive to work from home ‘where possible’ will be eased.

The Government reacted to the extreme impact of the pandemic on the economy by implementing a range of restrictions on residential evictions and on the forfeiture of commercial leases. Those restrictions have now been in place in varying forms since March 2020.

As a result, levels of rent arrears have built substantially during this period. Remit Consulting reported a £4.2 billion shortfall in collection of commercial rents to late 2020. Even this figure is not the true extent of indebtedness as it excludes rent falling due on the December 2020 quarter day. In the residential sector, 56% of private landlords reported a loss of rental income during 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, with 12% having lost more than 20% of that income, according to findings published last month by the National Residential Landlords Association.

Where does that leave property owners and occupiers in 2021?

Commercial premises

The restrictions in England and Wales on: i) forfeiture; ii) Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery; and iii) presenting a winding-up petition for unpaid commercial rent arrears have all been extended to 31 March 2021.

The current options for recovery are as set out in the table below.

Current options for recovery of possession – commercial premises

Remember the new corporate moratorium

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 has introduced a new stand-alone moratorium procedure for companies experiencing financial difficulty – allowing the company’s directors, together with a licensed insolvency practitioner ‘monitor’, to retain control of the company’s affairs while assessing the options available to save it as a going concern.

The initial moratorium period is for 20 business days, but this can be extended by a further 20 business days without creditor consent – or up to one year with creditor consent.

During the moratorium, the permission of the court is needed before the landlord is allowed to:

• forfeit a lease by peaceable re-entry;
• take any step to enforce any security (which is likely to include under a charged rent deposit);
• exercise CRAR; and
• begin or continue any legal processes against the company, including court proceedings for forfeiture of a lease (section A21 of the Insolvency Act 1986).

Residential repossessions

Residential landlords are used to their sector being heavily regulated, but given the pace of change since the introduction of the Coronavirus Act 2020, even seasoned experts in this field can be forgiven for not keeping up with the changing rules on possession proceedings and evictions.

The Government has sought to limit the prospects of homelessness triggered by the pandemic by intervening in the following policy areas of the residential rental sector:

• increasing the notice periods required to terminate tenancies;
• introducing general stays or restrictions on the circumstances in which possession proceedings can be brought; and
• introducing restrictions on the enforcement of repossession warrants.

For a summary of the current position, see the table below.

Recovery of possession – residential premises

From 4 May 2021, residential landlords will also need to consider whether a debt moratorium or ‘breathing space’ is in place under the Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020. These regulations will apply to most debts including rent arrears and monies owed in relation to an order or repossession warrant of a tenant’s place of residence.

There are two types of moratorium:

• a standard breathing space (generally lasting for 60 days); and
• a mental health crisis breathing space (which lasts for 30 days post-mental health crisis treatment).

During a breathing space:

• a landlord cannot serve a notice relying on grounds 8, 10 or 11 of Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988;
• interest, fees and charges are frozen;
• enforcement action is paused; and
• court proceedings cannot progress and must be stayed.

After a moratorium, a landlord must not require the tenant to pay interest, fees, penalties or charges that accrued during the moratorium.

What happens next?

For commercial landlords, the current restrictions may well be extended or amended when they are due to expire, particularly if there is still a widespread lockdown. This is likely to be followed by a gradual easing of restrictions on the recovery of possession and on the use of insolvency proceedings.

New court rules are being drafted to ration the use of insolvency proceedings once the current restrictions end. The aim of these measures is to avoid the courts being overrun.

The Government needs to give residential landlords and tenants more assistance, not just delay the inevitable prospect of tenants losing their homes due to the accrual of mounting arrears brought on by the impact of the pandemic on their livelihoods. It cannot expect landlords to bear the burden of unpaid rent arrears. As Baroness Altman said during the 2 February 2021 debate on the Public Health (Coronavirus) (Protection from Eviction) (England) Regulations 2021: “Private landlords cannot be expected to continue to effectively pay to house people for free. That is a government role.”

The Government has already legislated to give both corporate debtors and individuals more space in which to renegotiate their obligations or enter into formal insolvency processes. Ultimately, the levels of indebtedness incurred during the current pandemic will require restructuring where the debtor cannot repay its obligations. The open question is: to what extent will landlords be free to recover possession from those tenants who cannot or will not pay rent?

The legislation in this area continues to evolve. This article reflects the law as set out on 15 February 2021.

This article was published in Estates Gazette in February 2021.

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