Landlords have for a long time used the common law remedy of distress, which enables them to seize the goods of their tenant at the leased premises and sell those goods at auction, in order to recover any rent arrears. However, distress for commercial rent arrears will be abolished by the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 via the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, which were published last month. These reforms create a new process called Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) which landlords must abide by when seizing a tenant's goods for failure to pay rent. The changes are due to come into effect in April 2014.
Executive summary
Distress is an invaluable and frequently used remedy for the recovery of arrears. Its replacement by commercial rent arrears recovery ("CRAR") from 6 April 2014…