Introduction
The World Health Organization classified the outbreak of
COVID-19 as a pandemic on 11 March 2020. The Hong Kong Government
has been implementing a series of control measures, including
travel and border restrictions and compulsory quarantine for 14
days, to curtail the number of infections and combat the ongoing
outbreak. As a consequence, business disruptions with a reduced
need for office and shop spaces, and a significant and abrupt
business slowdown affect a lot of business tenants in Hong
Kong.
The key issues for a business tenant to consider are whether in
an outbreak a tenant can use that as a ground to early terminate
the tenancy agreement or request for a rent abatement until the
situation gets better. This article will focus on the application
of force majeure clauses and the doctrine of frustration with
regards to the possible early tenancy termination and rent
abatements.
