Commercial landlords are being encouraged to waive ‘some or all’ rent arrears where possible where tenants are unable to pay in full and were forced to close in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, under a new code of practice published by the UK government. The code sets out to help commercial landlords and their tenants resolve any remaining commercial rent disputes which arose during periods of forced closures during the pandemic.
Today’s Q3 GDP report shows that the UK economy is lagging behind its G7 rivals in recovering from the pandemic. On a quarterly basis, the UK economy is still 2.1% below its pre-pandemic level in Q4 2019 after growth slowed to 1.3% in the period July-September.
Hundreds of companies set up after the government’s furlough scheme was established have fraudulently claimed millions from the taxpayer. The use of these companies to claim emergency pandemic funds will be scrutinised by the HMRC who seek to recover £1 billion in fraudulent or mistaken claims.