Force majeure & COVID-19

[Zigner]

Thanks for the comments. However, I'm not sure how being made redundant due to the pandemic with no opportunity to work (legally) would not be considered "directly interfering with the OP's ability to pay the rent". What other avenues would be available?

Insofar as a force majeure matter is concerned, it's not. You could have lost your job for any number of reasons.

 

[LewisBoy]

Insofar as a force majeure matter is concerned, it's not. You could have lost your job for any number of reasons.

Your comment is accurate - however, I would be able to prove that I have lost my job directly because of the pandemic. My companies business involved large gatherings of people which have been specifically forbidden under the California Stay at Home order.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Thanks for the comments. However, I'm not sure how being made redundant due to the pandemic with no opportunity to work (legally) would not be considered "directly interfering with the OP's ability to pay the rent".

The problem is that your failure to pay the rent was not caused by you directly being affected by the pandemic, i.e you didn't get sick from it or were put out of work because of a government order related to the pandemic. What happened is that the pandemic resulted in a loss of business for your employer, and as a result you were let go. That's an indirect impact – the pandemic affected your employer and in turn you were then affected when your employer terminated you. While that resulted in a loss of income and a requirement in your case to leave the country, the pandemic itself does not preclude you from paying rent. It's not directly interfering with your ability to meet your requirements under the contract. Put another way, the pandemic does not make it impossible for you to pay rent. You lost income when you lost your job, but if you had savings or investments to cover you could still make the payments. So the problem paying rent is due to your personal circumstances, not due to something about the pandemic making it truly impossible for you to perform your end of the bargain. It's tough to make the argument that your performance is prevented by something outside your control (which is what force majeure clauses are about) when your performance is simply the payment of money.

 

[Zigner]

Please understand that we get it. You WERE affected by the pandemic. There is no doubt about it. It's just not a force majeure event insofar as your lease is concerned.

 

[FarmerJ]

Lewis who here in usa do you know well enough that they can check on the house by driving by it to see if it shows signs of occupancy like lights on at night, tv glow, cars parked in driveway , children's toys in the yard ? (once you have returned to UK ? ) Your LL cant just sit there and refuse to try to re rent it , in more normal times in summer months it should not take too long to re rent and for now the rental market may seem tight only because there are so many evictions in wait, meaning Id bet there are a lot of landlords who will be evicting tenants for non payment or even tenants who the LL really didn't want to renew with but the tenant wont leave , so as soon as states begin to end moratoriums that are now preventing landlords from filing to get tenants out there will be a a huge number of units come on the market . SO for now Id lay good odds the LL would not have a hard time re renting the place .

 

[LewisBoy]

The problem is that your failure to pay the rent was not caused by you directly being affected by the pandemic, i.e you didn't get sick from it or were put out of work because of a government order related to the pandemic. What happened is that the pandemic resulted in a loss of business for your employer, and as a result you were let go. That's an indirect impact – the pandemic affected your employer and in turn you were then affected when your employer terminated you. While that resulted in a loss of income and a requirement in your case to leave the country, the pandemic itself does not preclude you from paying rent. It's not directly interfering with your ability to meet your requirements under the contract. Put another way, the pandemic does not make it impossible for you to pay rent. You lost income when you lost your job, but if you had savings or investments to cover you could still make the payments. So the problem paying rent is due to your personal circumstances, not due to something about the pandemic making it truly impossible for you to perform your end of the bargain. It's tough to make the argument that your performance is prevented by something outside your control (which is what force majeure clauses are about) when your performance is simply the payment of money.

I'm grateful for this detailed response / explanation.

 

[LewisBoy]

Lewis who here in usa do you know well enough that they can check on the house by driving by it to see if it shows signs of occupancy like lights on at night, tv glow, cars parked in driveway , children's toys in the yard ? (once you have returned to UK ? ) Your LL cant just sit there and refuse to try to re rent it , in more normal times in summer months it should not take too long to re rent and for now the rental market may seem tight only because there are so many evictions in wait, meaning Id bet there are a lot of landlords who will be evicting tenants for non payment or even tenants who the LL really didn't want to renew with but the tenant wont leave , so as soon as states begin to end moratoriums that are now preventing landlords from filing to get tenants out there will be a a huge number of units come on the market . SO for now Id lay good odds the LL would not have a hard time re renting the place .

Yes, there is likely to be a clear 60 days I can offer the LL where he can re-advertise and also show the property, so this is the most hopeful solution. Thank you for your input.

 

[rowz]

When the pandemic came about zi saw some talk about using F M as a basis for cancelling contracts. I found it interesting that wha I read said that as a general rule the FM claim is not provided for in US and I think in British law. It was explained as being a concept in French law.

My apologies if I am totally off base but my reading about it my quite an interesting read.