In the current climate, previously stable commercial enterprises can unfortunately fall into financial difficulty. Tenants of commercial premises may not be in a position to pay the rent. It is important that a landlord in such a position has the ability to take swift and effective action to address the situation before arrears accumulate or the tenant goes out of business.
How does the process work?
It is the written lease agreement which determines the sum and date by when the rent must be paid. If a tenant has not paid by the agreed date, then after a period of usually between 14 to 21 days, a landlord will normally be entitled to take steps to enforce payment.
There are various options open to a landlord. He may seek to avoid commencing court proceedings and instead simply terminate (or forfeit) the lease. If this remedy is available, the lease would come to an end at the time that the forfeiture occurred and the tenant’s obligations would also end at this time.
Alternatively, the landlord may not want to terminate the lease but would instead wish to obtain a court judgment for the rent arrears. This judgment could in itself be enforced in a variety of ways.
