Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reforming full repairing and insuring leases for small business premises.

The Government will launch a review of the commercial landlord and tenant relationship later this year.

This is in response to growing concerns that the current commercial leasehold legislation has not kept pace with the realities of the sector, and will seek views on how to ensure a flexible and fit-for-purpose system that enables sustainable occupation of thriving high streets and town centres as we recover from the pandemic and beyond.

It will consider a broad range of issues including the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 Part II, different models of rent payment, and the impact of Coronavirus on the market. The Government will make further announcements on the detail, including a timeline and full scope, in due course. 

The Government has also recently launched a Call for Evidence on commercial rents to help monitor the overall progress of negotiations between tenants and landlords. This call for evidence will support the Government’s decision making on the best way to withdraw or replace existing legislation preventing eviction and insolvency measures, while preserving tenant businesses and the millions of jobs that they support. We welcome responses by 11:45pm on 4 May 2021.