Articles and News

If you are in the process of buying or selling a property, we recommend you discuss matters with your lawyer. Although our physical offices are closed, Gibson Sheat remains open for business to provide its clients with the advice they need in these unprecedented times.

I anticipate that the vast majority of contractors will not be throwing in the kitchen sink on delay costs and letting the contract become a battleground. Pragmatism needs to win the day because it is very likely that none of the current contracts adequately deal with all the financial implications of the current lockdown.

The wording of the lease will be critical to determining rights commercial tenants have to relief from paying rent and outgoings during the lock-down period.

Legal advice is crucial before taking action.

Home-owners who have had their income disrupted by COVID-19 will be entitled to a 6-month mortgage payment holiday, but they should carefully consider whether a mortgage holiday is necessary because it will lead to a greater liability in the future.

Employers can apply for a lump sum payment for their employees over 12 weeks if they have experienced a 30% actual or predicted decline in revenue due to COVID-19, over the period of a month when compared to a month last year.

• The rent freeze applies for an initial period of six months
• If a landlord has already given a rent increase or termination notice that comes into effect on or after the Bill comes into force (26 March 2020), this notice is of no effect.

Before bringing a contract to an end on the grounds of frustration we strongly recommend you to talk to one of our commercial lawyers to avoid being held liable for breach of contract.

In this article we’ve summarised the process that we as a business have been through and recommend other businesses follow to keep agile and weather the COVID-19 storm.

A $6.25 billion scheme is available for lending to small and medium-sized businesses with an annual turnover between $250,000 and $80 million per annum.

We’ve been giving a lot of thought to how Gibson Sheat might be able to help you with the challenges you might face in the coming period. Keep an eye out for our updates on this.