Natasha Woolfstein

In the Financial Times, Associate, David Rawlence reflects on how Coronavirus has shaken up the commercial property landscape, resulting in substantial quantities of office space being put out of use, which has been particularly evident in smaller cities and outer London suburbs.

On 9 November 2021, the Government presented the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill to Parliament providing the detail of the proposed arbitration scheme to deal with rent arrears that accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst this is subject to change before it becomes law, it contains significant proposals that will affect both landlords and tenants. The Government also published a new Code of practice for commercial property relationships.

Boodle Hatfield LLP have advised on the sale of 18 Blackfriars Road, a development site in a prime Central London location which has planning consent for a mixed-use scheme with an estimated gross development value of in excess of £1 billion.

A key announcement in the Autumn Budget speech was the confirmation that the new Residential Property Developer Tax (RPDT) will apply at a rate of 4% to affected companies.