11 August 2022

Applicants must submit their notification of intention to the Respondent by 26 August 2022 at the very latest

As you will be aware, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses were closed to prevent the spread of the virus. As a result, in many cases, rent on commercial premises went unpaid, which has led to ongoing disputes between tenants and landlords on outstanding pandemic-related rent debt.

To help resolve these disputes, the Government introduced a new statutory arbitration process as part of The Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022, which came into force on 24 March 2022.

The legally binding arbitration process was started in March and is being delivered by independent arbitrators appointed by approved arbitration bodies from a list of suitable and available arbitrators. Either party can apply for arbitration unilaterally. Outcomes to these disputes could include waiving some or all rent arrears or giving the tenant time to pay.

The last date for making an application to arbitration (called a ‘reference’) under the Act is 23 September 2022. However, the parties (tenant and landlord) must have also completed the pre-arbitration steps before making an application. The pre-arbitration steps can take up to 28 days but could be shorter, depending on whether or when the Respondent responds to the Applicant’s ‘notification of intention to make a reference to arbitration. It is therefore recommended that the Applicant submit their notification of intention to the Respondent by 26 August 2022 at the very latest.

Parties who want to apply to use the arbitration scheme will need to ensure that they send their ‘notification of intention’ in good time and must make their reference to arbitration to one of the seven approved arbitration bodies by the September deadline. A list of the bodies can be found here.

For further information please refer to the Act here and to the statutory guidance to arbitrators which can be found here. 

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