The High Court has found that the Government's announcement of an Alert Level 4 'Lockdown' for four weeks from 26 March 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic was unlawful and potentially unenforceable for the first nine days (Borrowdale v Director-General of Health [2020] NZHC 2090). The Court also reviewed the closure of all non-essential businesses, which is significant for business owners hoping to file civil liability claims for lost revenue during this period.

A New Normal - The impacts of the Covid-19 virus have been felt the world over and have pushed businesses to their limits. Parties on each side of a lease have been left with the job of negotiating through untested and uncertain lease clauses in a time where the support being offered by Government has been unclear and anyone who did hold insurance is discovering that 'pandemics' and 'infectious diseases' are a common policy exemption.

At a press release on 24 March 2020 at 1.00 pm a spokesperson for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) said: "If you are in doubt whether you are an essential service, you're probably not".

We have been fielding an unprecedented (but understandable) number of queries from both tenant and landlord clients wanting to understand the legal position in respect of either termination of commercial leases, and obligations in respect of rental/outgoings payments.

Successful companies that have experienced exponential growth in a short period may need to relocate and move into bigger premises much sooner than the initial business plan anticipated. This may mean having to negotiate surrendering or assigning a lease, particularly in situations where the current term of the lease has a number of years left to run and the need to move is far more immediate.

Consider these five tips before entering into an agreement.

It is in a Landlord's best interest to protect their investment and make sure any exposure to loss from a dodgy Tenant is minimised. All too often we hear of stories involving a Landlord being duped by a Tenant for whatever reason. Perhaps the Tenant becomes unable to pay its rent and rather than seeking out the Landlord and dealing with the situation head on, the Tenant allows its financial problems to continue until it is too late. By this time the Landlord is often owed money in rental and outgoings arrears and in the more extreme circumstances can be left with a vacant property needing to be re-tenanted urgently.

Unfortunately situations where Tenants are unable to pay rent on their leased commercial premises happens all too often. As a commercial property Landlord, knowing your rights and what to do if this situation arises will help minimise your losses.

When it comes to a business sale you need to "know your business". It is far too easy for assumptions to be made that are not incorporated in thesale agreement itself. In this article, we comment briefly on some of the things you should think about before seeing an agent or putting pento paper.

Purchasers of commercial property should undertake an exhaustive review of each potential purchase before declaring an agreement unconditional. This review should be undertaken in consultation with your lawyer, accountant, property manager, building inspector, lender, and otherwise as appropriate.