Interim moratorium meaning

The moratorium in administration Central to administration, the moratorium operates as the principal device that enables a company rescue, a restructuring, or the disposal of the business. Its objective is to afford the company and its administrator a period of breathing space to shape and carry out proposals, and to scrutinise the position of the company, its business and its assets. That pause creates room for careful assessment and orderly planning. The consequence of the moratorium (and any interim moratorium) is that proceedings, enforcement and other steps cannot be taken against the company or its property while it remains in force. Claims or actions may only be commenced or continued with the administrator’s consent or the court’s permission. For further detail on the moratorium and its impact, refer to Practice Note: The moratorium in administration. The process of applying to lift the moratorium Before issuing any application requesting the court’s permission to lift the stay, the applicant should first seek the administrator’s agreement. The administrator may consent,...

In this issue: Residential tenancies Repairing obligations and dilapidations Enforcing security and property insolvency Disputes and remedies Key developments and horizon scanning Additional Property Disputes updates LexTalk® Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Residential tenancies An end to unmeritorious tenancy deposit claims (Lowe v The Governors of Sutton’s Hospital in Charterhouse) The Court of Appeal in Lowe v The Governors of Sutton’s Hospital in Charterhouse [2025] EWCA Civ 857 upheld the refusal of a substantial claim under the tenancy deposit regime. The central question was whether a prescribed information certificate that, first, contained a mistake and, second, lacked a signature nevertheless complied with section 213 of the Housing Act 2004 (HA 2004) and the related 2007 Order. Applying the Mannai principle and adopting a purposive reading of the statutory scheme, the court held that the certificate was sufficient to meet those requirements. This...

Merritt v Thurrock Council and Midos Management Co Ltd [2021] EW Misc 2 (CC) What are the practical implications of this case for the foreseeable future in light of the pandemic? The judgment reinforces the effect of the Supreme Court’s ruling in R(N) v Lewisham London Borough Council [2015] AC 1259, confirming that where a local authority grants accommodation under temporary homelessness duties or powers, it may, when the tenancy or licence ends, recover possession without issuing possession proceedings. The same assurance matters to private accommodation providers, who often shoulder the practical step of retaking premises at the conclusion of the let and must be confident that doing so complies with the law. What was the background? In October 2018, the claimant sought homelessness assistance from Thurrock Council. The council accepted the main housing duty owed to them under section 193 of the Housing Act 1996 (HA 1996). Accommodation was then offered, which the claimant declined on the basis that it was unsuitable. As a consequence,...

Announced at a televised news conference following a call between Trump and Starmer, the agreement will reduce duties on British cars from 25% to 10% and scrap levies on selected metals, according to both leaders. It will also head off any additional tariffs on more than $400bn in bilateral trade in goods and services between the UK and the US, they added. At the briefing, Trump described it as a deal pushed to the limit that he intends to expand, saying it will grow of its own accord. On 2 April 2025, the US government set a 10% default tariff on most UK imports, alongside a 25% charge on cars and metals including aluminium and steel. Trump subsequently delayed the full tariff schedule for 90 days, keeping the 10% rate in place during the pause...

This glossary sets out numerous expressions frequently encountered in the restructuring arena. Words appearing in the definitions in bold are explained in other entries in this glossary. For further banking terminology, see the principal Banking & Finance Glossary. Restructuring glossary—A Acceleration: Acceleration means the agent, acting on directions from the majority lenders after an event of default, takes formal action, for example calling for early repayment of the facility. Ad-hoc committee: A temporary creditors’ group (often contrasted with a formal committee) that lacks any entitlement to official recognition. Administration: A process under the IA 1986 in which a financially distressed company is operated by an administrator as a going concern before longer-term outcomes, such as break-up and sale, are pursued. Administrator: An Insolvency Practitioner named by the court, a Qualifying floating charge holder, the directors or the company, to take control and fulfil one of the purposes in IA 1986, Sch B1. Administrative receivership: Arises when a company breaches the terms of...

This glossary sets out numerous expressions regularly encountered in the restructuring & insolvency sphere. Words shown in bold within definitions are themselves explained in other entries in this glossary as well. A Article X The MLIJ contains a single provision named Article X, aimed at jurisdictions that have already implemented the MLCBI, like England, or are weighing its adoption. Article X states: ‘Not withstanding any prior interpretation to the contrary, the relief available under [insert a cross-reference to the legislation of this State enacting Article 21 of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency] includes recognition and enforcement of a judgment’ (see Practice Note: UNCITRAL model law on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgments (MLIJ): Article X). Asset-backed security (ABS) A form of security anchored by asset pools, for example loans, leases, and credit card receivables. Assimilated law From 1 January 2024, ‘retained law’ has been retitled ‘assimilated law’. The body of domestic law originally arising from EU obligations, created by the European...

What is a liquidation stay? A liquidation stay, when operative, broadly mirrors a moratorium or interim moratorium in administration under paragraphs 43 and 44 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986). For more on the administration moratorium, see Practice Note: The moratorium in administration. While the stay is in place, no claim or proceedings may be started or carried on against the company or its property without the court’s permission. Any proceedings allowed may proceed only on such terms as the court chooses to impose. This Practice Note considers when the liquidation stay takes effect, what it does, and the factors the court weighs when deciding whether to lift the stay or, where apt, to impose it. When the liquidation stay applies, its purpose and effect Unlike the moratorium or interim moratorium in administration, a liquidation stay does not arise automatically in every liquidation. It applies as follows: in compulsory liquidation—once a winding-up order is made, or a provisional...

This Agreement is entered into on [ insert day and month ] 20[ insert year ] Parties The Lenders (as identified in Schedule 1) (the Lenders); and [ insert name of debtor company ], a company incorporated in [ insert country eg England and Wales ] under number [ insert registered number ] whose registered office is at [ insert address ] (the Company); (Each of the Lenders and the Company is a Party and, collectively, the Lenders and the Company are the Parties). Recitals The Parties have executed the following Finance Documents: [ insert list of finance documents ]. As at the Commencement Date, the amounts [ listed in OR calculated in accordance with Schedule 2 ] are owed under the Finance Documents. The Lenders consent to a moratorium on exercising their rights arising from any Event of Default or any breach of covenant under the Finance Documents. The Company will not be obliged...

In this Q&A, we assume that B’s claim is smaller than A’s. Legal process against the company Under paragraph 43(2) of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986), the moratorium prevents any legal process—covering legal proceedings, execution, distress and diligence—from being started or continued against the company or its property without the administrator’s consent or the court’s permission. This wording is wide enough to encompass any remaining actions or steps that might otherwise be taken against the company or its property. Accordingly, B can only bring an action against A with the approval of the administrator or the leave of the court. The purpose of the moratorium (and the interim moratorium) is to safeguard the company and its assets from creditor action during the company’s administration and the pre-appointment period. It bars any steps, actions or processes from being begun or carried on against the company and its property, save with the administrator’s consent (if one is appointed) or the court’s permission. See Practice...

This Q&A This Q&A explores the steps administrators should take to contest a landlord’s attempt to forfeit a lease by peaceable re-entry, carried out unaware of an interim moratorium triggered by lodging a notice of intention to appoint administrators (NOI). An NOI is to be lodged by the directors or the company in advance of making an out of court appointment pursuant to Schedule B1, paragraph 22, of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986). This Q&A does not address a case where no NOI has been lodged. Where a company or its directors intend to appoint an administrator via the out of court route, they begin by filing an NOI, which imposes an interim moratorium under IA 1986, Sch B1, paras 44(2), 44(4). After the NOI is placed before the court, notice must also be served on the ‘prescribed persons’, including any party known to have levied distress against the company or its assets (Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016, SI 2016/1024, r 3.23(4); IA 1986, Sch B1, para...