Will The Eviction Ban Extension Be Enough For Britains High Streets?
The rent moratorium - a ban on aggressive rent collections/evictions of commercial tenants, was due ... [+] to end today. getty  Retailers across the land are breathing a sigh of relief that the rent moratorium, originally due to expire today, has been extended until March 2022. The ban on evictions of commercial tenants due to non-payment of rent was extended after extensive lobbying from several industry groups. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) had warned throughout the year that the ending of this ban would cause a "tsunami" of further shop closures, with two thirds of retailers set to face legal action without the ban's extension. The British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) had also met with the Government including Small Business Minister Paul Scully to press for an extension of the moratorium. With 1 in 7 shops standing empty on the UK high street, and many retailers concerned about the shift to online selling, bricks and mortar stores remain in a fragile position after multiple lengthy closures during the pandemic. The shift online  Covid-19 accelerated many trends including the move to online shopping, creating a multi-billion pound e-commerce boom according to a June 2021 report by Ofcom. Many retailers with physical presences worked hard to grow their digital footprint to allow them to capitalise on this boom, however despite this pivot, many have found the strain of reduced footfall and sales too hard to bear. Forced to juggle fixed expenses and dwindling sales, the UK retail sector cumulatively racked up an estimated 2.9 billion of unpaid rents, according to a report by the BRC. With "non-essential" retail only re-opening in April this year, for many, the threat of having to cover those debts by the end of June felt like too much too fast, especially as footfall levels remain well below 2019. Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the BRC, said in a statement: Many retailers have taken a battering over the pandemic, but they are now getting back on their feet and playing their part in reinvigorating the economy. The unpaid rents accrued during the pandemic, when most shops were shut, are a 2.9 billion ball and chain." The extension has come as welcome opportunity for these retailers to work through this debt over a longer period, however, the question remains how many will be able to recuperate financially enough to settle their outstanding rents in 2022. Bills Must Be Paid  When March 2022 arrives, a final agreement must be reached between commercial tenants and landlords. This will require either the tenants to repay, the landlords to write off the debt, or a repayment plan to be put in place to recoup the debt over a longer period. Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said in a statement: "We have provided unprecedented support to businesses to help them through the pandemic. However, as we continue to lift restrictions and start to return to business as usual, tenants and landlords should be preparing to pay rent or come to an agreement if they have not done so already." BIRA CEO Andrew Goodacre said in a statement: "It is obvious that retailers with rent debt incurred during the closure periods need further protection and more time as they look to re-build their businesses. " With financial pressures remaining, there is still a tough road ahead for retailers as they look to bounce back financially. The emphasis should be on landlords and retailers working together to come up with creative solutions that not only settle outstanding debts in a way that is workable for all parties, but avoids merely delaying the feared "tsunami" of closures by 9 months.