On the Case: The landlord and tenant landscape after rent arrears rulings

Kim Clifford, senior associate at Ashurst, joins Jess Harrold to discuss the significant High Court decisions in Commerz Real Investmentgesellschaft mbH v TFS Stores Ltd and Bank of New York Mellon (International) Ltd v Cine-UK Ltd and others - in which landlords won summary judgment in their claims for unpaid rent during the pandemic.

In an under 25-minute podcast, Clifford explains how a procedure that was once a last resort for landlords became the only avenue for redress, as a result of the moratorium on other proceedings. She outlines how the process works and why, even once judgment is secured, that isn't the end of the road.

She offers a clear, straightforward rundown of the "kitchen sink" of arguments advanced by way of defence by the tenants, and how the High Court masters dealt with each of them.

And Clifford considers how landlord and tenant relations will evolve in the wake of these decisions, and the wider commercial background - including pending court cases on CVAs and restructuring plans, the impending end of the moratorium in June, and the government consultation on how to emerge from it.