Two-thirds of retailers facing legal action over rents, says BRC

A survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) shows that 30% of retailers say they have already faced County Court Judgements from commercial landlords. Furthermore, 80% of landlords have given tenants less than a year to pay back rent arrears accrued during the pandemic. It is estimated that the total rent debt is £2.9bn.

The BRC is calling on the government to ringfence the rent arrears built up during the pandemic and extend the moratorium on repayment of these debts to the end of the year, extend the protections on these debts to include County Court Judgements, and introduce compulsory arbitration from 1 January 2022 using the Code of Practice to “give teeth to this otherwise weak process”.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “Many retailers have taken a battering over the pandemic, but they are now getting back on their feet and playing their part in reinvigorating the economy. The unpaid rents accrued during the pandemic, when most shops were shut, are a £2.9bn ball and chain that hold back growth and investment and could result in a tsunami of closures.

“Government must ringfence the rent debts built up during the pandemic, giving retailers breathing space as they wait for footfall and cash flows to return. With this in place, all parties can work on a sustainable long-term solution, one that shares the pain wrought by the pandemic more equally between landlords and tenants. Without action, it will be our city centres, our high streets, and our shopping centres that suffer the consequences, holding back the wider economic recovery.”