Anyone with a heart must feel for the hospitality and leisure sectors. Omicron was delivering, in the space of a few weeks, a fairly bleak outlook for Christmas this year, after so much work across the industry to survive the pandemic, rebuild and look to thrive again. With talk of possible new restrictions in force immediately after Christmas, and until today no financial support packages, coupled with the "work from home" guidance the industry is being hit hard. Whole sectors are effectively entering a lockdown as demand drops and staffing levels are hit. Theatres, pubs and restaurants are closing their doors at what should be their busiest and most profitable time of year as people cut back on socialising in the run up to Christmas.

Today's announcement from the Chancellor of a £1bn fund for businesses affected by rising Covid cases and consumer unease looks to have been broadly welcomed by industry groups, as far as it goes. Hospitality businesses will be able to apply for a grant of up to £6,000 for affected premises under existing schemes. There is also help with sick pay for staff with Covid. 

With the December quarter rent due date looming, some may feel this is not enough. What all operators will now be aware of is the draft legislation working its way through Parliament to deal with the rental debt accrued since March 2020. The Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill proposes a binding rent arbitration scheme to determine the amount of rent payable by commercial tenants relating to historic periods of coronavirus-related closure and restrictions earlier in the pandemic (known as "protected rent debt"). "Protected rent debt" is limited to rents which fell due between 21 March 2020 until various dates businesses in England and Wales could fully open again between April and August 2021.

Hospitality businesses that do still have the cash to pay their December rent might well be hitting pause on the send button right now, much to landlords' concern. Landlords and investors in the sectors have likewise been hit hard, with around £7bn of unpaid rent - before the December 2021 quarter falls due. Businesses that don't have the cash will no doubt be contacting their landlords again.

At the time of writing there are no government mandated closures of these sectors which would align with the criteria in the draft legislation of "protected rent debt" for those earlier periods of closure. If new restrictions are introduced, will the rents for any future closures be added to the "protected rent debt" category under the legislation? Will the restrictions on forfeiture for unpaid rent - currently due to end in March 2022 - be extended further beyond March? Much will depend on how the next few weeks play out and if mandatory closures are announced. Businesses that have survived the pandemic so far but have a rocky first quarter of 2022 due to Omicron and have not paid December's rent may wonder why the protections since March 2020 are being withdrawn and the draft legislation may see some further amendments.

The revised Code of Practice for commercial property relationships following the COVID-19 Pandemic will continue to be relevant and there will no doubt again be discussions between landlords and tenants as the situation develops. Agreements and rent concessions entered into since March 2020 that provide for a reduction in rent in certain circumstances might be triggered, depending on how clearly the agreement was drafted and whether it depends on formal government action or just a drop in turnover.

No doubt there will be more developments over the next few days, leading to a very uncertain festive period for the industry despite the seasonal good news of today's announcement from the Chancellor.