With the Nation under siege from the coronavirus, there has been a sharp rise in Tenants not paying their rent. This can be for a number of reasons. Unfortunately, there has been a spike in unemployment due to companies going into administration or liquidation as a result of the pandemic.

Unfortunately, there are some people who have sought monetary gain from the confusion this whole episode has caused in the Private Rental Market. Over a fifth of adults in the UK live within Privately rented accomodation. Some have used the coronavirus outbreak as an excuse to stop paying their rent. The Government has suspended Tenant evictions till June at the earliest and this has given the green light for a minority to not pay their landlords due rent.

The National Residential Landlords Association has already voiced their concerns. They have requested that the Government be clearer on the support provided by Landlords and their lenders. Talk of mortgage holidays etc caused people to speculate that their landlords would receive the same. We know that this is not applicable to most buy to let mortgages. Here is the full story of the NRLA’s concerns.

My Tenant has not paid their rent, what Can I do?

You can take basic action to remind the Tenant of their obligations. Regardless of the situation, they are still legally required to pay rent. Obviously it is at your discretion if you choose to be charitable in such situations. If the Tenant has genuinely had a massive reduction in their income then it is recommended that empathy be shown.

If the Tenant is simply just using this pandemic as an excuse not to pay then this is unacceptable. A Letter before action will remind the tenant of what can happen. The Letter should detail any outstanding monies payable immediately. The Evictions legal process is likely to restart in June dependant on events in the next few weeks.

We would recommend to all Landlords that they work with their Tenants during this unprecedented period.

My Commercial Tenant has not paid rent? 

As well as Private Landlords, Commercial Landlords are also being hit hard. Commercial Landlords will have the right to forfeit and start collection of unpaid commercial rent arrears from July 2020.

If your Commercial Tenant has not paid, it is in your best interests to try and broker a repayment deal with them in the short term. Where this is not possible, a Notice of Intended Action may jolt your Commercial Tenant into action.

It is important to remember that this is just a storm. Storms pass and we will return to normality/ Hopefully a more kind and respectful society. Contact us today if you need assistance with anything.