Commercial Leases – Covid-19 – Where Things Stand

9 April 2020 – On 8 April, the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech parliament passed legislation mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on commercial leases (the "Bill"). It is expected that the Bill will now swiftly be approved by the Senate of the Czech parliament, signed into law by the President and then take immediate effect.

Main commercial impact of the Bill

The Bill seeks to mitigate the consequences of the state of emergency and other extraordinary measures imposed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak on tenants of commercial premises (in particular in retail, office, logistics and other premises used for business operations). The Bill allows tenants, under certain conditions, to defer rent payments during a specifically-defined period spanning the anticipated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and prohibits landlords from terminating leases due to tenant rent payment arrears.