Lexis Nexis
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Rental payment problems caused by COVID-19 – Landlords and tenants need to consider how best to decrease their risks -
To avoid wasting time and money on legal fees in seeking clarity from the courts, review your commercial lease contract, as we discuss the impact of looting. -
COVID-19 could lead to substantial losses being suffered by parties as a result of non-performance, but reliance on force majeure in such cases will depend on how it has been defined in their commercial agreements and what steps they have taken to mitigate the losses. -
The Covid-19 Temporary Relief Scheme Refined – Recent Amendments to the Minister’s DirectiveAmendments published to the Directive responsible for the implementation of the Scheme on 08 April 2020 have clarified the application of the Scheme and have further refined its operation. -
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 force majeure is generally defined as “an act of God or man that is unforeseen and unforeseeable and out of the reasonable control of one or both of the parties to a contract, and which makes it objectively impossible for one or both of the parties to perform their obligations under the contract.” -
Force majeure is a common clause in contracts that essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such as a war, strike, riot, crime, plague, or an event described by the legal term act of God (hurricane, flood, earthquake, volcanic eruption, etc.), prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations under the contract.