As a landlord, you need the reassurance that your commercial tenants will keep up with rent payments. Though this is usually the case, tenants can experience financial difficulties, and it’s not uncommon for commercial businesses to fall into rent arrears. You might try to solve the problem by giving them some flexibility on payments and giving them time to catch up, but eventually you will need to take more serious action to recover the rent. Otherwise, you could run into financial problems yourself. After all, the cost of owning a commercial property doesn’t stop simply because your tenant is unable to pay. This is where the Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) process comes in.
What is the Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery Process?
The CRAR process is a legal process that enables a landlord to recover rent arrears from a commercial tenant. Using an enforcement agent, you are able to recover the rent by taking the tenant’s property and selling it to raise money. However, you can only recover rent arrears that are at least seven days late and you must know exactly how much money is owed. The CRAR process is there to help landlords like you, but there are a number of rules that need to be followed if you want to start the process.
For example, the CRAR is only an option if you are recovering rent for a commercial property, and it doesn’t work if the property is being used residentially. There must be a written lease, and the lease must detail the ins and outs of the agreement, such as the amount of rent to be paid and when. The CRAR process can only be initiated if the commercial tenant is still occupying the property. When it comes to seizing goods, an enforcement agent is the one that must take the items, and not a landlord.
Steps to Initiating the CRAR Process
In order to initiate the CRAR process correctly, you need to enlist the services of an enforcement agent. They will handle everything on your behalf, including entering the property and seizing any goods. Once you have found an enforcement agent, the process starts by serving notice to your commercial tenant. This will give them a seven day notice to pay the rent arrears. If they are unable to pay the owed money, an enforcement agent can enter the property after seven days, and seize the tenant’s belongings. They have 12 months to complete this step. Once goods have been seized, the enforcement agent can use the goods to cover the cost of the owed rent, which usually happens at auction.
There is no denying the stress and annoyance that comes with having a commercial tenant owing you money, but help is always available. To find out more about the CRAR process and recovering rent arrears, get in touch with our experienced debt collection agency.
