In April 2020, the federal government and other jurisdictions announced moratoria on evictions from rental properties, but offered no financial assistance for unpaid landlords. Since then, many landlords have rightly lamented, “What about us?”
Then, just before Christmas, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA 2021) was signed into law, with several lease- and rent-related bankruptcy amendments. While the amendments appear to provide a small salve for commercial landlords, they extend the post-petition limbo for landlords of non-residential properties. The CAA 2021 will leave many landlords with bankrupt tenants still wondering “What about us?”