Pubs, cafes and restaurants remain closed and can only provisionally reopen from July 4, although many smaller establishments have said the rules mean their businesses will become unviable without enough customers allowed inside.
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “As our high streets come to life and our town centres open for business, it is crucial that both landlords and tenants have clarity and reassurance as they seek to keep their finances stable and bounce back.
“That is why we are extending measures to protect those who are unable to pay rent from eviction so that businesses have the security they need to plan for their futures.”
He pointed out that the new code was developed and signed alongside the British Chambers of Commerce, British Property Federation, British Retail Consortium, the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council, Revo, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and UKHospitality.
British Property Federation chief executive Melanie Leech said the move comes as landlords and tenants continue working together in the majority of cases.
She added: “The success of landlords and tenants working together as economic partners is vital to the UK’s recovery and to help ensure that viable businesses in distress as a result of coronavirus are supported, to protect both people’s jobs and the local authorities, savers and pensioners who own the majority of our town centres.”
