Rent abatement for business rents decided
The compromise proposal of the National Council's sister commission, which deals with a retroactive reduction of business rents during the operational COVID-19 closure, is considered to have been passed. In addition to the National Council, the Council of States also adopted the proposal on the evening of the month.
In detail, the compromise proposal provides for the following:
"A legal regulation on the treatment of rent reductions due to COVID-19 measures is to be welcomed in every respect. "
Business operators owe their landlord only 40 per cent of the rent for the duration of the official closure due to the corona virus.
A rent cap of CHF 20,000 will apply.
The remaining 60 per cent is borne by the landlord.
Businesses that have had to reduce their activities also benefit from a limited reduction.
With a rent between 15,000 and 20,000 francs, tenants as well as landlords can do without this solution.
For landlords, the Federal Council provides for a hardship fund of CHF 20 million.
Agreements already made between the tenants shall remain valid.
A legal regulation on the treatment of rent reductions due to COVID-19 measures is to be welcomed in principle. In view of the burning issue of desired rent reductions during COVID-19 closures, a large number of court cases can be expected. There is still legal uncertainty regarding the treatment of official closures in tenancy law. A law could counteract this flood of lawsuits. However, a concrete legislative proposal will not be available until the end of the year at the earliest. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that by that time some courts will have already dealt with this legal issue and thus developed an initial case law.
This article was written by Rebecca Isenegger, lawyer.
For further information on contract law, please contact Arife Asipi directly.