{"id":19346,"date":"2020-06-08T08:27:10","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T07:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ukactive.com\/news\/ukactive-warns-that-thousands-of-gyms-and-leisure-facilities-face-rent-timebomb-unless-government-extends-protection-from-landlords\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T17:03:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T17:03:56","slug":"ukactive-warns-that-thousands-of-gyms-and-leisure-facilities-face-rent-timebomb-unless-government-extends-protection-from-landlords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ukactive.com\/cy\/news\/ukactive-warns-that-thousands-of-gyms-and-leisure-facilities-face-rent-timebomb-unless-government-extends-protection-from-landlords\/","title":{"rendered":"ukactive warns that thousands of gyms and leisure facilities face rent timebomb unless Government extends protection from landlords"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thousands of gyms and leisure operators could be forced out of business by crippling rent payments which come back into effect at the end of the month, ukactive has warned.<\/p>\n

ukactive is calling on the Government to extend its protection for thousands of tenants who will be asked to pay the rent for the next quarter on 24 June, despite remaining closed since 20 March.<\/p>\n

With customers unable to use gyms for the past 10 weeks, many businesses have been forced to furlough the majority of staff to save costs, but are still faced with utility bills and delayed rent payments which they cannot currently afford as they have no income.<\/p>\n

A consultation by ukactive with the UK\u2019s leading operators has revealed that many are facing major financial concerns if nothing changes in the coming days.<\/p>\n

The Government previously announced<\/a> it will launch a Code of Practice to protect the high street during coronavirus, and ukactive is calling for protections on rent to form part of the measures if businesses are to survive the crisis.<\/p>\n

The date for reopening gyms and leisure facilities is yet to be confirmed by the Government, but will be no earlier than 4 July, based on the existing plans for \u2018Phase 3\u2019 of its reopening strategy.<\/p>\n

In April, ukactive successfully lobbied<\/a> the Government to amend the Coronavirus Act to restrict tactics being adopted by landlords who were coercing gyms and leisure centres into paying rent that had been withheld as a result of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

The measures announced by the Government included for statutory demands and winding up petitions to be temporarily voided and changes were made to the use of Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery.<\/p>\n

Landlords and investors were asked to work collaboratively with high street businesses unable to pay their bills during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Government introduced temporary new measures to safeguard the high street against aggressive debt recovery actions during the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n

However, these protective measures expire at the end of the month, meaning gyms and leisure operators will be liable for large rent payments that they cannot afford, forcing many into administration as they are threatened with legal action through statutory demand notices and winding up orders.<\/p>\n

ukactive urges the Government to:<\/strong><\/p>\n