Lowering rents could help revive Britain’s cities, lawyer says Yorkshire News

However, a law firm believes that landlords are under significant pressure to negotiate with tenants as a first step.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to several company voluntary agreements, or CVAs, in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors.

Yorkshire firm Schofield Sweeney contends that recent legal rulings involving tenants seeking to avoid debt through CVA are largely upheld by the courts.

Commenting on the issue, Richard Jobes, partner at Schofield Sweeney, said: “The recent CVA rulings will only deepen tensions between tenants and landlords as both parties seek to find a solution to the debts accumulated by the pandemic.

“Landlords are not exempt from options, but this is largely limited to threatening debt claims in court. We have to use those threats to negotiate the best possible settlements with tenants. Usually, both parties want to find a way forward that helps the tenant continue to trade, and the landlord recovers some of the debt. “

Jobes said that everyone is eagerly awaiting the government’s proposals to tackle the “wall of arrears.”

He predicts that we could see certain debts delimited and a dispute resolution mechanism in place to enforce a payment schedule. It is in neither party’s interest to lose a once profitable business relationship, he added.

Jobes added: “Landlords continue to face uncertainty about how the problem of rent arrears will develop in the coming months. However, there is no doubt that our main streets will be transformed over the next year, but I hope that any reduction in rents will lead to more vitality in our towns and cities.