Rental payment problems caused by COVID-19 – Landlords and tenants need to consider how best to decrease their risks

Covid-19: Force Majeure – a tough time to be a landlord. If landlords can’t rely on so-called “Force Majeure” clauses in lease agreements, they could rely on the common law right of “supervening impossibility to perform”and even consider business interruption insurance cover.

A lenient and pragmatic approach in resolving the impasse between retail tenants and retail landlords may be a preferred, as opposed to a strict and purely contractual approach given the uncharted territory retail tenants and landlords find themselves in as a consequence of lockdown.