The third case this year where a tenant’s defence to a landlord’s summary judgement claim for pandemic rent arrears failed.
The third case this year where a tenant’s defence to a landlord’s summary judgement claim for pandemic rent arrears failed.
The tenant (P) held two leases of a cinema premises in the Trocadero Centre in London. One lease was granted in 1994 and the other in 2014. The leases provided that the property could only be used as a cinema and that the landlord did not warrant that the property could be lawfully used as such.
During the pandemic, regulations required the cinema to close for certain periods. During those times, P could not trade at all. In the gaps between those restrictions, the trading conditions were so poor in Central London that the cinema largely remained closed. When it did open, its takings were a fraction of what they would have been in normal circumstances.
P had not paid any rent since June 2020. The landlord (LT) sought summary judgment for arrears of rent and service charge of £2.9 million.
Professional Development Lawyer
david.harris@brownejacobson.com
+44 (0)115 934 2019