Call for Evidence
A Call for Evidence was published in April 2021 following the extension of government measures that had been introduced over the pandemic to protect businesses against the economic shocks of Coronavirus-related restrictions.
	The Call for Evidence gathered data on the state of negotiations between commercial landlords and tenants regarding these outstanding rent arrears, as well as ongoing lease terms. The Call for Evidence also sought views from interested parties on six options: one to allow the current measures to lapse on 30 June 2021 and five options to manage the exit from the current measures, including the option to ringfence rent debt and introduce a backstop of binding arbitration (which was the preferred option, particularly favoured by tenants).
	Out of the respondents to the Call for Evidence, the total rent that tenants claimed to owe was over £570m, while the total rent that landlords claimed they were owed was over £1.7bn. Both landlord and tenant stakeholders agreed that the voluntary nature of the Code of Practice meant it was less effective, and 49.2% of respondents were in favour of binding adjudication, whilst only 27.4% were against it.