Liquidity Decree and Short-Term Rentals: Implications for Property Managers of Short-Term Rentals

In-depth analysis in collaboration with Studio ICFC, Accountants and Auditors, via Boccaccio 7, Milan.

On 8 April 2020, Legislative Decree no. 23 "Urgent measures on access to credit and tax compliance for businesses, special powers in strategic sectors, as well as interventions on health, work, extension of administrative and procedural deadlines" (hereinafter the "Decree") to counter the harmful effects of Covid-19 on the Italian economy.

The Liquidity Decree naturally also concerns all companies that deal with short-term rentals. Let's see what are the rules that can be used by property managers who deal with short-term rentals.

The Decree - prepared to support companies in difficulty with measures aimed at the economic recovery from the Covid 19 emergency still underway - intervenes in five main areas and in particular:

• measures for access to credit, support for liquidity, exports, internationalization and investments;
• measures to ensure business continuity;
• strengthening of special powers in sectors of strategic importance and transparency obligations in financial matters;
• fiscal and accounting measures;
• provisions on procedural and procedural deadlines;
• additional minority provisions.

A summary of the main provisions of the Decree is shown below, divided into the following macro-areas:

1. Measures to support liquidity;
2. Fiscal and accounting measures;
3. Measures of a corporate nature;
4. Procedural and procedural terms.

A. LIQUIDITY SUPPORT MEASURES 


This section examines the provisions concerning the measures of access to credit, liquidity support, export, internalisation and investment.


Art. 1 Temporary measures to support the liquidity of companies. These measures have a high impact for property managers dealing with short-term rentals

SACE SpA (Stcompany controlled by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti) (“SACE”) will be able to grant, until 31 December 2020, guarantees of up to 200 billion Euros, allocating 30 billion Euros to SMEs, including self-employed workers and freelancers with VAT numbers, provided that they have exhausted the their ability to use the credit issued by the PMI Central Guarantee Fund.

The provision in question introduces a series of conditions for the issue of the guarantee by SACE.

Guarantees may, in fact, be issued:

• for loans with a term not exceeding 6 years (in addition to a possible pre-amortisation of up to 24 months);
• for guaranteed amounts not exceeding 25% of the turnover recorded in 2019 by the beneficiary company (resulting from the financial statements or from the tax return) or double the personnel cost incurred by the same in the year 20191 (resulting from the financial statements or from data certificates if the company has not approved the financial statements);
• to companies which as at 31 December 2019 (before the spread of the Covid 19 epidemic) were not included among the so-called "companies in difficulty" and which as at 29 February 2020 were not among the non-performing exposures in the banking system.

In order to find a balance between the maximum amount of the guaranteed loan and the percentage of coverage of the same, the regulatory provisions provide for three guarantee thresholds, based on the size of the company:

•  90% of the loan for companies with fewer than 5.000 employees in Italy and a turnover of up to 1,5 billion euros;
• 80% of the loan for companies with more than 5.000 employees in Italy or turnover between 1,5 and 5 billion euros;
• 70% of the loan for companies with a turnover of more than 5 billion euros.

These are the annual commissions for the issue of guarantees due to companies: for SME loans, they are paid in relation to the guaranteed amount.

• 25 basis points the 1st year;
• 50 basis points the 2nd and 3rd year;
• 100 basis points in the 4th, 5th and 6th years;
• for loans to companies other than SMEs, they are paid in relation to the guaranteed amount
• 
50 basis points the 1st year; 100 basis points the 2nd and 3rd year;
• 200 basis points the 4th, 5th and 6th years.

1 ) If the company started its activity after 31.12.2018, reference must be made to the personnel costs expected for the first two years of activity, as per the document attested by the legal representative of the company. 2) for the notion of "companies in difficulty" see EU Regulation 651/2014 and the notion of "impaired loans" see circular no. 272 issued by the Bank of Italy. It should be noted that the Guarantee Fund includes the so-called "unlikely to pay" (ie probable defaults) and overdue and non-performing positions (so-called past due or overdue and overdue beyond 90 days) as at 31.01.2020 (in any case, bad debts are excluded) .

The commissions must be limited to the recovery of costs, while the cost of the loans covered by the guarantee must be lower than the cost that would have been requested by lenders for operations with the same characteristics but without the guarantee, as resulting from the certification signed by the legal representative of the aforesaid lenders.

The law also specifies that the guarantees:


• they will be granted to cover new loans concluded after the entry into force of the Decree for capital, interest and ancillary charges up to the maximum guaranteed amount;
• will be upon first request, explicit and irrevocable;
• will provide for the competition between the guarantor and the guaranteed for non-repayment of the loan.

The loan must be used to support personnel costs, investments or working capital employed in production plants and entrepreneurial activities located in Italy and this by means of a certificate signed by the legal representative of the beneficiary company.

With the issue of the guarantee, the beneficiary company undertakes, together with any other company based in Italy belonging to the same group, to:

•  not approve the distribution of dividends or the buyback of treasury shares in the twelve months following the disbursement of the loan;
• manage employment levels through union agreements. If the same company, or the same group, is the beneficiary of several loans assisted by this guarantee, the amounts will be considered cumulative.

As for the procedures for accessing the guarantees issued by SACE, for smaller companies (ie fewer than 5.000 employees in Italy and a turnover of less than 1,5 billion euros) a simplified procedure has been envisaged which includes the following steps:

• request by the company to a lender – who can also operate with other lenders – for a single loan guaranteed by SACE;
• release of the positive opinion of the lenders which will be sent to SACE for the preliminary investigation and for the issue of a single code for the identification of the loan and the guarantee;
• the release of the guaranteed loan by SACE.
• for companies that exceed the above thresholds: the issue of the guarantee and the relative single code is also subject to the decision taken by decree by the Ministry of Economy and Finance ("MEF") (after also consulting the Ministry of Economic Development) which on the basis of the SACE investigation can raise the percentage coverage of the guarantee to the threshold immediately higher than that envisaged in consideration of the role that the company performs with respect to specific areas/profiles in Italy such as:
  (i) contribution to technological development;
  (ii) belonging to the logistics and supply network;
  (iii) impact on critical and strategic infrastructures;
  (iv) impact on employment levels and the labor market;
  (v) specific weight within a strategic production chain.

The activities carried out by short-term rental property managers are fully among those that have a high impact on employment levels and the labor market.

SACE regulates the methods, procedures and documentation necessary to be able to process the aforementioned requests for funding and the issue of guarantees, as well as the reporting process on the basis of which it periodically reports to the MEF on compliance by the financed entities and lenders with the commitments and conditions.

The effectiveness of SACE guarantees is subject to the approval of the European Commission.

Art. 12 Solidarity Fund for first home loans, the so-called Gasparini Fund

The regulation clarifies that within the notion of self-employed workers who have access to the Solidarity Fund, "first home" mortgages, the so-called Gasparini Fund, include:

• freelancers with a VAT number as of 23 February 2020;
• workers holding coordinated and continuous collaboration relationships active on the same date, enrolled in the separate management, not pensioners and not enrolled in other compulsory social security forms.

Also included are sole proprietorships and artisans who - as for any self-employed or freelance worker - are not required to present an ISEE.

Finally, for a period of 9 months from the entry into force of the Decree, the benefits of the Solidarity Fund are also extended to mortgages that have been amortized for less than a year.

Many small entrepreneurs and collaborators in the tourism and short-term rental sectors are subject to VAT numbers and coordinated collaboration relationships and can therefore benefit from this legislation.

Art. 13 Central Guarantee Fund

The Decree regulates new intervention measures through the Central Guarantee Fund for SMEs, valid until 31 December 2020, in temporary derogation from the provisions of the Fund pursuant to Law 662/1996.

This rule will presumably be adopted by many short-term rental property managers.

A summary table of the articulated legislative provision is provided.

As already mentioned, the Guarantee Fund also includes the so-called positions “unlikely to pay” (ie unlikely to pay) and past due and non-performing (so-called past due or past due and past due beyond 90 days) as at 31 January 2020 (non-performing loans are in any case excluded). The guarantee will also be disbursed to non-performing companies. This possibility will be limited only to companies which, after 31 December 2019:

• have been admitted to going concern procedures pursuant to art. 186 bis of the Bankruptcy Law;
• have concluded restructuring agreements pursuant to art. 182 bis of the Bankruptcy Law;
• have presented a certified plan pursuant to art. 67 of the Bankruptcy Law, and on condition that, on the date of entry into force of the Decree:
• the related exposures cannot be classified as non-performing exposures; ü do not have amounts in arrears subsequent to the application of the concession measures; the bank deems it probable that full repayment will be made at maturity.

The Fund may intervene as an indirect guarantee:

• in favor of new microcredit operators (registered in the list referred to in Article 111 of the Consolidated Law on Banking or who have started business in the 3 years preceding the submission of the application) who have contracted loans, up to the maximum threshold of 80% of the amount disbursed;
• up to 85% of the available budget, for portfolios of loans disbursed to SMEs and for portfolios of minibonds.
• the extension of the duration of the guarantees of the Fund already issued will also be granted, in line with the concession of the suspension of the payment of the amortization installments, or of the principal portion only, or the extension of the maturity of the loans, requested by the companies in connection with the effects induced by the spread of the Covid-19 virus The provisions dictated by the previous Decree Law 18/2020 must be considered repealed.

B. TAX AND ACCOUNTING MEASURES

This section examines the main provisions concerning the fiscal and accounting measures adopted with the Decree.

Article 18 (Suspension of tax and social security payments)

The rule aims to support subjects for whom the current measures to contain the spread of Covid 19 have affected their liquidity. The beneficiaries of the suspension are identified on the basis of the revenues or payments achieved in the tax period preceding the one in progress on the date the Decree enters into force.

For businesses and professionals with:

• the tax domicile, the registered office or the operational headquarters in the territory of the State;
• revenues and fees not exceeding 50 million euros in the tax period preceding the current one and which have suffered a reduction in turnover and fees of more than 33% in the months of March or April 2020 compared to the same months of 2019, the payments of withholding taxes on income from employment and similar;
• withholdings for local surtaxes, VAT and obligations and payments of social security and welfare contributions and compulsory insurance premiums.

For companies and professionals with revenues and fees exceeding 50 million euros, the suspension is also permitted where the reduction in turnover is more than 50% in the months of March or April 2020 compared to the same months of 2019.

As regards companies and professionals with tax domicile, registered office or operational headquarters in the provinces of Bergamo, Brescia, Cremona, Lodi and Piacenza, the suspension of VAT payments applies, for the months of April and May, regardless of the volume of revenues and remuneration provided that they have suffered a reduction in revenues and remuneration of more than 33% in the months of March or April 2020 compared to the same months of 2019.

Suspended payments must be made, without penalties and interest, in a single installment by 30 June 2020 or by installments up to a maximum of 5 equal monthly installments starting from June 2020. No refunds will be made of what has already been paid.

Art. 19 Extension of the suspension of withholdings on self-employment income and commissions relating to commission, agency, mediation, representation, trade and business procurement relationships.

For subjects with tax domicile, registered office or operational headquarters in Italy with revenues or fees not exceeding Euro 400.000 in the previous tax period and who in the month preceding that of entry into force of the Decree have not incurred expenses for employee services or equivalent, there is provision for not being subject to withholding taxes for income from self-employment and equivalent work referred to in articles 25 and 25-bis of the Presidential Decree of 29 September 1973, n. 600 by the withholding agent, in relation to the revenues and fees received up to May 31, 2020.

To this end, taxpayers issue a specific declaration which shows that the revenues and fees are not subject to withholding pursuant to this provision and pay the amount due for withholding taxes not made by the withholding agent in a single solution by 31 July 2020 or in a maximum of n. 5 equal installments starting from July 2020, without the application of penalties and interest.

Art. 20 Advance forecast method for June

In order to favor the possibility of using the "provisional" method (instead of the "historical" method) in the calculation of advances due in June 2020 for subjects who could make a reduction in the taxable amount for IRPEF, IRES and IRAP purposes, - only for the tax period following the one in progress as at 31 December 2019 - the non-application of penalties and interest is envisaged in the event of a difference in the amount paid as an advance on a forecast basis, compared to that due on the basis of the results of the tax return and Irap, within the margin of 20 percent.

Art. 21 Postponement of payment deadlines

The law provides that payments, including those relating to social security and welfare contributions and compulsory insurance premiums, due on 16 March 2020 and previously extended to 20 March 2020 by Decree Law no. 18/2020, are considered timely if completed by 16 April 2020.

Art. 22 Provisions relating to the terms of delivery and electronic transmission of the 2020 Single Certification

The law provides that - in order to allow withholding agents to have more time available to carry out tax obligations, as a result of the inconvenience deriving from the epidemiological emergency - only for the year 2020, it is deferred to 30 April the deadline within which the withholding agents must deliver to the interested parties the single certifications relating to income from employment and similar and to income from self-employment. If the sending takes place before 30 April, the application of sanctions is excluded.

Art. 23 Extension of the certificates pursuant to art. 17-bis, paragraph 5 of Legislative Decree 241/1997, (DURF) issued in February 2020

The provision expressly extends the validity of the tax regularity certificates (DURF) for contractor companies, issued by the Revenue Agency. In particular, the extension refers to the certificates issued in February 2020, extending their validity until 30 June 2020, in order to avoid, in consideration of the situation connected to the epidemiological emergency from COVID-19, access by taxpayers to the offices of the Agency.

Art 26 Simplifications for the payment of stamp duty on electronic invoices

In order to reduce/simplify taxpayers' obligations, the payment of stamp duty can be made, without the application of interest and penalties:

•  for the first quarter, within the terms established for the payment of the tax relating to the second calendar quarter of the reference year, if the amount of the tax to be paid for electronic invoices issued in the first calendar quarter is less than Euro 250;
• for the first and second quarter, within the terms established for the payment of the tax relating to the third calendar quarter of the reference year, if the amount of the tax to be paid for electronic invoices issued in the first and second calendar quarter of the year is less than a total of Euro 250.

An alternative payment method to the ordinary is therefore introduced: the payment for the first quarter, if the amount is less than Euro 250, is moved to the deadline set for the second (July 20); moreover, if cumulatively the tax due for the first and second remains below this threshold, this payment can be further deferred until the expiry of the third quarter (20 October). As also confirmed by the Explanatory Report to the Decree, no deferrals are envisaged for the third and fourth quarters, therefore the related stamp duty due must be paid at the ordinary deadlines, respectively 20 October and 20 January.

Art. 28 Amendments to art. 32 quater of Legislative Decree 124/2019 distribution of profits to ordinary partnerships.

The provision with a partial modification of the art. 32-quater of Legislative Decree 124/2019 on the distribution of profits to simple partnerships provides for:

• the inclusion within the scope of application of the regulation of profits from foreign sources, with the exclusion of those coming from States or territories with preferential tax regimes to which the provisions of the TUIR continue to apply;
• the clarification of the application of the withholding and substitute tax envisaged for the profits received by the simple partnership for the portion attributable to the natural person shareholders of the same company;
•  the discipline of the tax regime of the profits received by the simple company for the portion attributable to the non-commercial entity members and to the non-resident members of the simple company;
•  the regulation of a transitional regime for the profits produced until 31.12.2019, the distribution of which is approved by 31.12.2022. The tax regime in force prior to the changes made by the budget law for 2018 is applied to these profits. 30 Changes to the tax credit for sanitation costs. The art. 64 of Legislative Decree no. 18/2020 had introduced a tax credit for the costs of sanitizing work environments and tools. The provision extends the scope of application of the relief by also including expenses relating to: the purchase of personal protective equipment (such as, for example, surgical masks, Ffp2 and Ffp3, gloves, protective visors and protective goggles, overalls protection and footwear); the purchase and installation of other safety devices designed to protect workers from accidental exposure to biological agents or to guarantee interpersonal safety distances (such as, for example, barriers and protective panels). Hand cleaners and disinfectants . The measure of the tax credit remains unchanged, equal to 50 percent of the costs of sanitizing the environments and work tools up to a maximum amount of Euro 20.000. The maximum spending limit envisaged for the measure, equal to Euro 50 million for the year 2020, is also confirmed.

C. CORPORATE MEASURES.

Art. 4 Signing contracts and communications in a simplified way

The rule aims to ensure continuity in the provision of services and in the offer of products to customers by banks and financial intermediaries in the Covid 19 emergency situation, favoring the conclusion of new contracts through easier methods of exchanging consent than those provided for by the law in force.

Therefore, in the period between the date of entry into force of the Decree and until the cessation of the Covid 19 state of emergency, the above contracts will be regulated as follows:

•  the consent aimed at the conclusion of the contract may be expressed by uncertified e-mail or other suitable means;
•  the message must be accompanied by a copy of a valid identification document and referring to a clearly identifiable contract;
•  all the aforementioned documentation must be kept, together with the contract itself, in such a way as to guarantee its security, integrity and unchangeability;
•  the requirement to deliver a copy of the contract will be satisfied by making a copy of the text of the contract on a durable medium available to the customer;
• the intermediary will deliver a paper copy of the contract to the customer at the first useful opportunity following the end of the state of emergency;
•  the customer will be able to use the same tool used to express consent also to exercise the right of withdrawal.

Art. 5 Deferment of the entry into force of the Code of business crisis and insolvency pursuant to Legislative Decree no. 12 January 2019, no. 14.

The regulation ordered the postponement to 1 September 2021 of the entry into force of the Code of business crisis and insolvency referred to in Legislative Decree 12 January 2019, n. 14, scheduled for 15 August 2020, making some changes to article 389 of the aforementioned decree. The full postponement of the entry into force of the aforementioned Code is aimed at fully achieving the purpose of legal certainty, since in this moment of crisis of the productive and economic system, the full application of the bankruptcy reform could not be guaranteed, the philosophy consists in saving as many possible businesses and their business continuity, adopting the liquidation instrument as an extrema ratio, to be resorted to in the absence of concrete alternatives. The deferral will also make it possible to align the Code of business crisis and insolvency with the forthcoming legislation implementing EU Directive 1023/2019 on preventive restructuring of companies. The provisions referred to in paragraph 2 of art. remain unchanged. 389 of the aforementioned Code which entered into force on 16 March 2019 concerning, among other things, the obligation for the entrepreneur who operates in a corporate or collective form to establish an organisational, administrative and accounting structure within 30 days pursuant to art. 2086 of the Civil Code (Articles 375 and 377 of the Code) and the expansion of the number of companies required to appoint the control body or auditor.

Art. 6 Temporary provisions on capital reduction.

The regulatory provision provides that from the date of entry into force of the Decree and until 31 December 2020 for the cases that occurred during the financial years closed by the aforementioned date, the following regulatory provisions are not applied:

2446, paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Civil Code "Reduction of capital due to losses";
  2447 of the Civil Code "Reduction of the share capital below the legal limit";
  2482 bis paragraphs 4,5 and 6 of the Civil Code "Reduction of capital due to losses";
 2482 ter of the civil code "Reduction of the share capital below the legal limit" 2484, paragraph 1 n. 4 "Causes for dissolution";
 2545-duodecies of the Italian Civil Code "Dissolution"

The rule aims to prevent the capital losses due to the Covid 19 emergency and which occurred in the financial years ended 31 December 2020 from putting the administrative body in the conditions of immediate liquidation of the companies with the loss of the prospect of going concern, also for competitive companies, and with the risk, for the same body, of exposing itself to liability for non-conservative management pursuant to and by effect of Article 2486 of the Civil Code

Art. 7 Temporary provisions on the principles for preparing the financial statements

The rule allows companies - which before the Covid 19 emergency had a regular going concern perspective - to draw up and approve the financial statements in progress as at 31 December 2020 by evaluating the items with a view to continuing the activity referred to in art. 2423 bis, paragraph 1, no. 1) cc

The valuation of the items in view of the continuation of the activity pursuant to art. 2423 bis, paragraph 1, no. 1 of the civil code can in any case be used if it appears to exist in the last financial statements closed on a date prior to 23 February 2020. The law aims to facilitate the timely approval of the financial statements of companies, allowing the latter to face the difficulties of epidemiological emergency with a clear representation of reality, making a reclassification with reference to the physiological situation prior to the onset of the emergency itself.

The aforementioned provision also applies to financial statements closed by 23 February 2020 and not yet approved.

Lastly, the provision pursuant to art. 106 of Legislative Decree 18/2020 which had ordered the extension of sixty days of the deadline for the adoption of the reports or financial statements relating to the 2019 financial year, ordinarily set at 30 April 2020.

Art. 8 Temporary provisions on company financing

The regulation contains provisions on loans to companies and provides that for loans made by shareholders in favor of the same, from the date of entry into force of the Decree and until 31 December 2020, articles 2467 "Loans of shareholders ” and 2497 quinquies of the Italian Civil Code and “Financing in management and coordination activities”.

The regulatory provision aims at the temporary deactivation of the post-disbursement mechanisms of the loans carried out by the shareholders or by those who exercise management and coordination activities, with the ultimate aim of allowing the maximum involvement of the shareholders and parent companies in increasing the company's financial flows .

The derogation only applies to loans made from the date of entry into force of the Decree and until 31 December 2020.

D. PROCEDURAL AND PROCEDURAL TERMS

This section examines the Government's interventions on the timing of civil, criminal, administrative actions, in bankruptcy proceedings and on the judgments related to them.

Civil proceedings

The hearings of civil proceedings pending at all judicial offices are postponed to a date after 11 May 2020, thus extending the analogous provision envisaged by the Cura Italia Decree by a further 26 days. The suspension until May 11 of the deadlines for the completion of any procedural act of civil proceedings, including the introductory acts of the proceedings, executive proceedings and appeals is also confirmed.

The suspension also concerns mediation and assisted negotiation procedures as well as all out-of-court dispute resolution procedures.

Administrative proceedings

In the context of the judgments governed by the code of administrative procedure, the Decree ordered the suspension from 16 April 2020 to 3 May 2020 - inclusive - of the terms for the notification of appeals, with the exception of the precautionary ones pursuant to art. 54, ch. 3, CPA.

Without prejudice to the provisions of art. 84, c. 5, of Legislative Decree 18/2020, according to which all disputes, from 16 April 2020 until 30 June 2020, pass to a decision, without oral discussion, on the basis of the documents filed, with the right of the parties to present brief notes up to two days free before the date fixed for the treatment.

Finally, paragraph 4 provided for the extension of the deadline from 15 April 2020 to 11 May 2020 also for all functions and activities of the Court of Auditors, as listed in art. 85, c. 2 of Legislative Decree 18/2020, with the exception of the functions relating to the preventive control of the legitimacy of the documents.

Terms of administrative procedures and the effectiveness of expiring administrative acts

The Decree extended to 15 May 2020 the deadlines set by article 103, paragraphs 1 and 5, of Legislative Decree 18/2020.

For the purposes of calculating the terms relating to the conduct of administrative proceedings upon request by a party or ex officio, pending on 23 February 2020 or started after that date, the period between the same date and that of 15 May 2020, specifying that, for the corresponding period, the terms for forming the will of the Public Administration are extended or deferred.

Inter alia, paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of article 103 of Legislative Decree 18/2020 remain in force, with the consequence that:

• the validity until 15 June 2020 of all certificates, attestations, permits, concessions, authorizations and enabling deeds however denominated, expiring between 31 January and 15 April 2020 remains valid;
• the suspension does not apply to the terms established by specific provisions of Legislative Decree 18/2020 (ie, to negotiated procedures without prior publication of a call for tenders, provided for by articles 72, paragraph 2, and 75), of the Decree Laws of 23 February 2020, no. 6, 2 March 2020, n. 9 and 8 March 2020, n. 11), as well as the payments of salaries, pensions, wages for self-employment, fees for the performance of works, services and supplies, unemployment benefits, from social shock absorbers or from welfare or social benefits, contributions, subsidies and subsidies to businesses.
• 
employment provisions: the Decree has established the extension of the ordinary layoffs, ordinary allowances as well as the exceptional layoffs (all already provided for by articles 19 and 22 of Legislative Decree 18/2020) also to workers hired in the period included between 24 February and 17 March 2020. Therefore, employers who suspend or reduce their work activity in 2020 due to events attributable to the epidemiological emergency from COVID-19, will be able to submit, depending on the case and alternatively, an application for granting: of the ordinary salary integration treatment or access to the ordinary allowance; layoffs as an exception as provided for by the Cura Italia Decree, not limited to employees already in force as of 23 February 2020, but also for workers possibly hired from 24 February to 17 March 2020.
• provisions on composition with creditors and restructuring agreements. The regulatory intervention in question is aimed at safeguarding those procedures of composition with creditors or restructuring agreements with concrete possibilities of success before the outbreak of the Covid 19 emergency, which, in this particular phase, could, however, be irreparably compromised, with evident negative effects on the conservation of entrepreneurial structures relevant to the production and economic cycle.

In summary, the regulation provides:

• the 6-month extension of the terms of fulfillment set out in the agreements with creditors and of the approved restructuring agreements, expiring in the period between 23 February 2020 and 31 December 2021;
• in relation to the procedures for approving compositions with creditors and restructuring agreements pending as of 23 February 2020, against the filing of the related application, the granting of a term not exceeding 90 days and not extendable for the filing of a new plan and composition proposal pursuant to art. 161 of the Bankruptcy Law, or a new restructuring agreement pursuant to art. 182 bis Bankruptcy Law The provision, however, does not apply where the meeting of creditors has already been held without the majority required by law having been reached;
• with reference to the procedures for the approval of composition with creditors and restructuring agreements, the right to unilaterally modify the relative fulfillment terms, extending them up to 6 months, by filing a memorandum containing the indication of the new terms, as well as the documentation supporting the need for the change;
• the faculty, for the debtor who has obtained a term pursuant to art. 161 paragraph 6 (concordato in bianco), or 182 bis paragraph 7, L. Bankruptcy (restructuring agreements), where it is expiring and cannot be further extended by the Court, to request, providing an adequate description of the elements referring to the epidemiological emergency, a further extension of up to 90 days. The provision also applies if an appeal has been filed for the declaration of bankruptcy.

Temporary provisions on appeals and requests for the declaration of bankruptcy and the state of insolvency.

The law aims to provide for the general non-admissibility of all the appeals filed between 9 March and 30 June 2020 aimed at declaring bankruptcy and the state of insolvency towards the various types of entrepreneurs, as provided for by bankruptcy procedures, compulsory administrative liquidation and of extraordinary administration and this in order both to ease the growing pressure of the creditor class and to relieve entrepreneurs from the obligation to file for bankruptcy on their own. The following are excluded from the scope of application of the standard:

• the companies involved in the DL n. 347 of 23 December 2003 (so-called Marzano Law);
• in the event that the appeal is presented by the public prosecutor and contains the request for the issuance of precautionary or conservative measures, pursuant to art. 15, c. 8, L. Bank.

Lastly, the rule provides for the ineffectiveness of the impossibility of proceeding for the purposes of calculating the terms for the proposal, both of the request against the company canceled from the Company Register, and of the revocatory actions and this in order to prevent the aforementioned suspension operates causing irreversible consequences in the context of claims against companies canceled from the Business Register or with regard to the requirement of par condicio creditorum.

Suspension of the expiry terms of credit instruments

The regulation provides for the suspension of the expiry terms of credit instruments issued before the entry into force of the Decree.

With regard to bank and postal checks, the deadline for submitting payment for the title to the beneficiary is suspended. This does not prevent the beneficiaries from presenting the title for payment pending the suspension; the security therefore continues to be payable by the drawee on the day of presentation if the funds are available in the account of the drawer. However, in the event of a lack of funding, the suspension of the presentation will also apply to the drawer with the consequent temporary inapplicability of the protest and the sanctioning regulations of the cheque. In this context, therefore, notice of revocation will not be sent for checks without funds during the suspension period; if the revocation notice has already been sent, the 60-day deadline for executing the late payment is suspended.

All the elements necessary to determine whether or not it is possible to proceed with the payment of the security (such as, for example, the availability of funds, the lack of authorisation) as well as those to be considered for further actions (e.g. protestability or not), will then be evaluated at the end of the suspension period.

The transmission to the Chambers of Commerce by public officials of protests and equivalent findings raised from 9 March 2020 until the date of entry into force of this provision will also be suspended.

Where already published, the Chambers of Commerce automatically cancel them. With reference to the same period, the information to the Prefect pursuant to art. 8 bis, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the law of 15 December 1990, n. 386.

CleanBnB has carefully examined the implications of the decree with its consultants and is therefore ready to make its own available know-how to all property managers who manage short-term rental properties in their city, who are interested in learning more.

We get support requests daily and We are happy to lend a hand in this difficult moment. Write to us or call us to learn more about the following aspects, in the light of the decree, the management of cash and financial needs, the management of rental contracts, the management of employees and collaborators and service contracts with suppliers and any other issue relevant to your property manager activities for short-term rentals and holiday homes.