It is commercial property’s £7B question: What happens to the rent that has gone unpaid during the coronavirus pandemic? The High Court says one thing, the government something else, and swathes of property owners and their tenants remain in the dark about an issue that could decide their fates. A series of High Court rulings in recent months have come down in favour of landlords, ordering tenants to cough up unpaid rent for periods when they were forced to shut. That has caused a spike in claims from property owners trying to recoup what they feel they are owed, according to property litigation lawyers. 
They are moving fast because lurking on the horizon is a force that could block them. The UK government has said it will introduce new legislation before March to force landlords and tenants to come to agreement about how to deal with unpaid rent from the pandemic period or face a…  Read the full story here. | 
