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Pie chat adjusted to COVID-19 shapeOn the one-year anniversary of China’s Wuhan lockdown, COVID-19 has become a part of everyday life and as we enter the new year, real estate borrowers and lenders alike will need to understand this new normal and face the reality that is fast approaching. In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the United States, many state and local governments instituted eviction moratoria and other protections for real estate tenants and borrowers. These protections created a window of opportunity for tenants and borrowers to negotiate reasonable solutions with their respective landlords and lenders regarding rent and debt payments amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This temporary period of restricted remedies also allowed courts to analyze legal arguments on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the real estate industry.

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Anyone who follows Anthony Cavender’s Court-Side Seat column on Gravel2Gavel throughout the year knows he leaves nary a judicial, legislative or agency-related environmental law stone unturned. We’ve gathered all the stones from 2020 into one place, Environmental Law – The Year in Review. 

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https://www.gravel2gavel.com/files/2021/01/European_Commission.svg_-300x208.pngOn 19 January, the EC published a strategy setting out wide-ranging ideas for the development of its financial market infrastructure. The strategy includes plans for driving the green transition in line with the European Green Deal through turning the EU financial markets into a “global green finance hub.”

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Pillsbury partner and Global Co-Head of the Energy & Infrastructure Projects team Mona Dajani discusses energy transition with Jigar Shah, President and Co-Founder of Generate. Join us on February 4, 2021 where Jigar and Mona chat about entrepreneurship, sustainable sectors including hydrogen, food waste and EVs and the role of government in the energy transition. To attend this fireside chat, register here.                                                                                                                                                                                                                Energy-Transition-with-Jigar-Shah

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HUD-sealLegislation signed into law on December 27, 2020, fixed the rate for the 30% present value low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), which had dropped to a historic low of 3.07 in 2020, at 4% (the 4% Floor). Congress hopes that the 4% Floor will increase the supply of affordable rental housing in 2021 and beyond by reducing the need for other types of financing and subsidies for qualified LIHTC projects.

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Real Estate partner Andrew Weiner and Tax partner Craig Becker discuss the intersection of transfer tax with enforcement in distressed real estate in New York and California in the latest Swimming Lessons Series presentation.

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A recent Chuck E. Cheese decision denies the debtor’s/tenant’s request to defer paying rent after thChuck-E-Cheesee 60-day “rent holiday.” The Bankruptcy Court applied the “plain language” rule to hold that section 365(d)(3)’s rent holiday cannot be extended. In “Bankruptcy Court Rules Bankruptcy Code Does Not Permit Extended Rent Holiday for Retail Debtors” colleagues, Patrick J. Potter, Patrick E. Fitzmaurice, and Kwame O. Akuffo discuss that after that initial 60-day period expires, the debtor is required to pay post-petition rent. The court did not order the debtor to make a rent payment on the 61st day and deferred ruling on landlord remedies for tenants failing to pay post-petition rent, regardless of when the rent accrued.

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The Corporate Transparency Act creates a federal beneficial ownership registry for corporations, LLCs and “other similar entities.” The act creates new and unprecedented reporting obligations relating to entity structures commonly used in private real estate development. Colleagues Christian A. Buerger, David L. Miller, Andrew J. Weiner and Aaron R. Hutman discuss the recently enacted the Corporate Transparency Act (Act) in The Corporate Transparency Act and New Compliance Obligations for Real Estate Developers, Investors, Fund Sponsors and Others. Many aspects of the new law are unclear, having been left to subsequent regulations. Disclosure requirements will apply to new and existing entities. While confidentiality is generally mandated, there are exceptions. Fines and penalties, civil and criminal, are prescribed for a failure to comply.

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As we say goodbye to 2020, we wanted to share our top five most-read articles of 2020 from Gravel2Gavel. The most-read blog posts covered real estate and construction industry trends ranging from proptech trends like blockchain tokenization to COVID-specific rent carveouts and management disclosures to trends and market updates. Our posts provided deep industry insight and summarized hot topics that addressed the legal implications and disruptions that affected the market.  Our 2020 roundup:

  1. Blockchain-Based Tokenization of Commercial Real Estate by Matt Olhausen. Matt discusses the increasing interest in technology applications for real estate assets, or “Proptech,” and tokenization’s potential.
  2. Real Estate Trends: Looking Ahead to 2021 by Adam Weaver. Adam discussed the pandemic’s influence and future trends for the real estate market.
  3. Management’s Duties and Responsibilities to Disclose COVID-19 Cases to Commercial and Residential Tenants While Also Protecting Privacy by Rebecca Carr Rizzo. Rebecca discussed how timely and accurate disclosures of positive COVID-19 results could reduce liability.
  4. Real Estate Market Update. Joel Simon discusses the current real estate market, the types of lenders active in the market, and popular transaction types that thrived in 2020.
  5. The Looming Housing Crisis and Limited Government Relief—An Examination of the CDC Eviction Moratorium Two Months In.  Zach discussed the federal eviction moratorium.