Source: http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/fullhtml/inforce/act+46+1994+pt.5-sec.42+2005-01-01+N
Timestamp: 2013-05-19 05:21:25
Document Index: 423038224

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 2', 'art 3', 'art 4', 'art 5', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art\n62', 'art 9', 'art 9', 'art 1', 'art 8', 'art 9', 'art 9', 'art 2', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art.13', 'art 3', 'art 8', 'art\n8', 'art 1', 'art 4', 'art 5', 'art 6', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art(1', 'art 8', 'art 4', 'art 1', 'art.77', 'art 5', 'art 9', 'art 8', 'art 9', 'art 7', 'art 10', 'art 1', 'art 2', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 2', 'art:1997', 'art.4', 'art 3', 'art:1998', 'art 8', 'art 8', 'art 8', 'art 4']

Historical version for 1 January 2005 to 30 June 2005 (accessed 19 May 2013 at 15:21).
Does not include amendments by:Conveyancers Licensing Act
2003 No 3 (not commenced)Retail Leases Amendment Act
2004 No 84, Sch 1 [1]–[5] [7]–[9] and [11] (not
commenced — to commence on 1.7.2005)
File last modified 1 January 2005.
5 Certain retail shops excluded from the operation of this
6 Leases to which Act does not apply
7 This Act overrides leases
8 When the lease is entered into
Part 2 Before the lease is entered into
9 Copy of lease to be provided at negotiation
10 Right to compensation for pre-lease
11 Lessee to be given disclosure statement
11A Lessee’s disclosure statement
12 Lessee not required to pay undisclosed
13 Lease preparation costs
14 Key-money prohibited
15 Lease documentation
16 Minimum 5 year term
Part 3 Rent and outgoings
17 Payment of rent when lessor’s fitout not
18 Restrictions on adjustment of base rent
19 Reviews to current market rent
19A Information supplied to valuer
20 Turnover rent
21 Special rent—cost of fitout
22 Recovery of outgoings from lessee
22A Recovery by lessor of GST
23 Capital costs not recoverable from lessee
24 Depreciation not recoverable from lessee
24A Interest and charges incurred by lessor on borrowings not
recoverable from lessee
24B Rent and other costs associated with other land not
25 Sinking fund for major repairs and maintenance
25A Limits on sinking funds
25B Sinking fund repayment
26 Limit on recovery of land tax
27 Estimates of outgoings to be provided by lessor
28 Lessor to provide statement and report on
29 Adjustment of contributions to outgoings based on actual
expenditure properly and reasonably incurred
30 Non-specific outgoings contribution limited by ratio of
31 Reviews to current market rent
31A Information supplied to valuer
32 Opportunity for lessee to have current market rent
determined early
Part 4 Alterations and other interference with the
33 Lessee to be given notice of alterations and
34 Lessee to be compensated for disturbance
34A Relocation
35 Demolition
36 Damaged premises
37 Employment restriction
38 Refurbishment and refitting
Part 5 Assignment and termination
39 Grounds on which consent to assignment can be
40 Key-money on assignment prohibited
41A Protection of assignors and guarantors
42 Lessor may reserve right to refuse sublease,
43 Application of Conveyancing Act 1919
44 Notice to lessee of lessor’s intentions at end of
45 Key-money for renewal or extension prohibited
46 Trading hours
47 Security deposits
48 Independent legal advice
Part 7 Additional requirements for retail shopping
49 Part applies only to retail shopping centres
50 Confidentiality of turnover information
51 Statistical information to be made available to
52 Advertising and promotion requirements
53 Marketing plan for advertising and promotion
54 6-monthly advertising and promotion expenditure statement
to be made available to lessees
55 Lessor to provide statement and report on advertising and
56 Unexpended advertising and promotion contributions to be
58 Termination for inadequate sales prohibited
59 Geographical restrictions
60 Tenants association
61 Trading hours
62 Special provision for strata shopping centres
Part 7A Unconscionable conduct
62A Application of Part
62B Unconscionable conduct in retail shop lease
Division 2 Mediation
64 The Registrar
65 Functions of Registrar
66 Mediation of disputes and other matters
67 The nature of mediation
68 Disputes and other matters must be submitted to mediation
before proceedings can be taken
69 Statements made during mediation not admissible
Division 3 Determination of claims by Administrative
71A Lodging of unconscionable conduct claims with
72 Powers of Tribunal relating to retail tenancy
72AA Powers of Tribunal relating to unconscionable conduct
72A Power of Tribunal to award interest
73 Monetary limit on Tribunal’s jurisdiction
74 Tribunal must attempt to conciliate
75 Removal of court proceedings to the Tribunal
76 Jurisdictional overlap
76A Removal of proceedings to Supreme Court
77A Tribunal may award costs
77B Assessors
77C Right of appearance
Part 9 Ancillary interpretation provisions
78 Interpretation based on industry practice
78A Meaning of “the Act” in leases
79 Leases partly for retail shops and partly for other
80 Meaning of “renewal” of lease
Part 9A Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport
80A Application
80B Non-retail premises exempted
80C Leases in master concessions over 1,000 square metres
80D Further entitlement to withhold consent to
80E Exemption from section 39
80F Exemption from section 50
81 Extension of term—effect on Real Property Act 1900
82 Exemptions from Act
83 Act binds Crown
84A Savings and transitional provisions
Schedule 1 Retail shop businesses
An Act to make provision with respect to the leasing of certain
retail shops and the rights and obligations of lessors and lessees of those
shops, and for other purposes.Part 1 PreliminaryNote. This Act applies to leases of retail shops, with certain
limitations. To understand those limitations:* see the definition of retail shop in section 3 for the
shops to which this Act applies,
* see section 5 for the retail shops that are excluded from the
operation of this Act,
* see section 6 for the leases that are excluded from the operation
1 Name of ActThis Act may be cited as the Retail Leases Act
proclamation.3 DefinitionsIn this Act:assignor’s disclosure
statement means a statement referred to in section
41.exercise of a
a power, authority or duty.GST has the same
meaning as in the A New Tax System (Goods and
Services Tax) Act 1999 of the Commonwealth and includes
notional GST of the kind for which payments may be made under section 5 of the
Intergovernmental Agreement Implementation
(GST) Act 2000 by a person who is a State entity within the
meaning of that Act.key-money means
any money paid to or at the direction of a lessor or lessor’s agent, by
way of a premium, non-repayable bond or otherwise, or any benefit that is
conferred on or at the direction of a lessor or lessor’s agent, in
connection with the granting, renewal, extension or assignment of a lease (and
a reference in this Act to the payment of key-money includes a reference to
the conferral of any such benefit).lawyer means a
barrister or solicitor.lessee means the
person who has the right to occupy a retail shop under a retail shop lease,
and includes a sublessee and a lessee’s or sublessee’s heirs,
executors, administrators and assigns.lessee’s disclosure
11A.lessor means the
person who grants or proposes to grant the right to occupy a retail shop under
a retail shop lease, and includes a sublessor and a lessor’s or
sublessor’s heirs, executors, administrators and assigns.lessor’s disclosure
conveyancer means the holder of a licence under the Conveyancers Licensing Act
1995.outgoings means a
lessor’s outgoings on account of any of the following:(a) the expenses directly attributable to the operation, maintenance
or repair of the building in which the retail shop is located or (in the case
of a retail shop in a retail shopping centre) of any building in the retail
shopping centre or any areas used in association with any such
(b) rates, taxes, levies, premiums or charges payable by the lessor
because the lessor is the owner or occupier of any such building or the land
on which it is erected or is the supplier of a taxable supply (within the
meaning of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services
Tax) Act 1999 of the Commonwealth) in respect of any such
building or land.
party means the
lessor or the lessee under a retail shop lease.Registrar means
the Registrar of Retail Tenancy Disputes referred to in Part 8.retail shop
means premises that:(a) are used wholly or predominantly for the carrying on of one or
more of the businesses specified in Schedule 1 (whether or not in a retail
shopping centre), or
(b) are used for the carrying on of any business (whether or not a
business specified in Schedule 1) in a retail shopping
Note. Section 5 limits the retail shops to which this Act
applies.retail shop
lease or lease means
any agreement under which a person grants or agrees to grant to another person
for value a right of occupation of premises for the purpose of the use of the
premises as a retail shop:(a) whether or not the right is a right of exclusive occupation,
Note. Section 6 limits the retail shop leases to which this Act
applies.retail shopping
centre means a cluster of premises that has all of the following
attributes:(a) at least 5 of the premises are used wholly or predominantly for
the carrying on of one or more of the businesses specified in Schedule
(b) the premises are all owned by the same person, or have (or would
if leased have) the same lessor or the same head lessor, or comprise lots
within a single strata plan under the Strata
(c) the premises are located in the one building or in 2 or more
buildings that are either adjoining or separated only by common areas or other
areas owned by the owner of the retail shops,
(d) the cluster of premises is promoted as, or generally regarded as
constituting, a shopping centre, shopping mall, shopping court or shopping
retail valuer means:(a) for the purposes of a valuation relating to a retail shop in a
retail shopping centre, a valuer having not less than 5 years’
experience in valuing retail shops located in regional and sub-regional
shopping centres, or
(b) for the purposes of a valuation relating to any other retail shop,
a valuer having not less than 5 years’ experience in valuing retail
Note. Part 9 contains other provisions that affect the interpretation of
this Act.4 NotesNotes included in this Act except where occurring in Schedule 2
are explanatory notes and do not form part of this
Act.5 Certain retail shops excluded from the operation of this
ActThis Act does not apply to any of the following retail
shops:(a) shops that have a lettable area of 1,000 square metres or
(b) shops that are used wholly or predominantly for the carrying on of
a business by the lessee on behalf of the lessor,
(c) any shop within premises where the principal business carried on
on those premises is the operation of a cinema, bowling alley or skating rink
and the shop is operated by the person who operates the cinema, bowling alley
or skating rink,
(d) any premises in an office tower that forms part of a retail
(e) premises of a class or description prescribed by the regulations
as exempt from this Act.
6 Leases to which Act does not apply(1) This Act does not apply to any of the following leases of retail
shops:(a) leases for a term of less than 6 months without any right for the
lessee to extend the lease (whether by means of an option to extend or renew
the lease or otherwise), and for this purpose a provision for holding over by
the lessee at the end of the term of the lease is not considered to confer a
right on the lessee to extend the lease if it operates effectively at the
discretion of the lessor,
(b) leases for a term of 25 years or more (with the term of a lease
taken to include any term for which the lease may be extended or renewed at
the option of the lessee),
(c) leases entered into before the commencement of this
(d) leases entered into under an option granted or agreement made
before the commencement of this section,
(e) any other lease of a class or description prescribed by the
regulations as exempt from this Act.
(2) This Act does not apply to any lease referred to in this section
that is assigned to another person after the commencement of this
section.Note. Part 9A provides for certain exemptions regarding Sydney
(Kingsford-Smith) Airport.7 This Act overrides leasesThis Act operates despite the provisions of a lease. A provision
of a lease is void to the extent that the provision is inconsistent with a
provision of this Act. A provision of any agreement or arrangement between the
parties to a lease is void to the extent that the provision would be void if
it were in the lease.8 When the lease is entered into(1) For the purposes of this Act, a retail shop lease is considered to
have been entered into when a person enters into possession of the retail shop
as lessee under the lease or begins to pay rent as lessee under the lease
(whichever happens first).(2) However, if both parties execute the lease before the lessee
enters into possession under the lease or begins to pay rent under the lease,
the lease is considered to have been entered into as soon as both parties have
executed the lease.Note. Therefore, if the lessee starts to pay rent as lessee or enters
into possession as lessee, the lease is considered to have been entered into
even if neither party has executed the lease at that time. Money paid in
advance (purportedly as rent) as a deposit to secure premises for a proposed
lease does not constitute rent paid as lessee under the
lease.Part 2 Before the lease is entered into9 Copy of lease to be provided at negotiation
stageA person must not, as lessor or on behalf of the lessor, offer to
enter into a retail shop lease, invite an offer to enter into a retail shop
lease or indicate by written or broadcast advertisement that a retail shop is
for lease, unless:(a) the person has in his or her possession a copy of the proposed
retail shop lease (in written form, but not necessarily including particulars
of the lessee, the rent or the term of the lease) for the purpose of making
the lease available for inspection by a prospective lessee,
(b) the person makes a copy of the proposed lease available to any
prospective lessee as soon as the person enters into negotiations with the
prospective lessee concerning the lease.
units.10 Right to compensation for pre-lease
misrepresentations(1) A party to a retail shop lease is liable to pay another party to
the lease (the injured
party) reasonable compensation for damage suffered by the injured
party that is attributable to the injured party’s entering into the
lease as a result of a false or misleading statement or representation made by
the party, or any person acting under the party’s authority, with
knowledge that it was false or misleading.(2) The giving of a lessor’s disclosure statement to a
prospective lessee under a retail shop lease is considered to be the making of
a representation by the lessor to the lessee as to the information in the
disclosure statement.(2A) The making of a representation by a prospective lessee in a
lessee’s disclosure statement given to a prospective lessor under a
retail shop lease that the prospective lessee has sought independent advice,
or as to statements or representations relied on by the prospective lessee in
entering the lease, is considered to be the making of a representation by a
lessee to the lessor.(3) This section extends to apply to a statement or representation
made before the commencement of this section.11 Lessee to be given disclosure statement(1) At least 7 days before a retail shop lease is entered into, the
lessee must be given a disclosure statement for the lease. A disclosure
statement is a statement in writing that contains the information, and is
accompanied by the material, that is contained in or required to complete or
accompany the form of disclosure statement set out in Part 1 of the form
contained in Schedule 2 (but only to the extent that is relevant to the lease
concerned). The layout of the disclosure statement need not comply with that
of the form set out in Part 1 of the form contained in Schedule 2. However, a
lessor’s disclosure statement is complete for the purposes of this
section only if it has attached to it a form to be completed by the lessee as
set out in Part 2 of the form contained in Schedule 2.Note. Because the disclosure statement need only include information
relevant to the lease, if the retail shop is not in a retail shopping centre
the disclosure statement need not include information that is relevant only to
shops in retail shopping centres.(2) If a lessee was not given a disclosure statement as required by
subsection (1) or if the disclosure statement that was given to the lessee was
incomplete or contained information that at the time it was given was
materially false or misleading, the lessee may terminate the lease by notice
in writing to the lessor at any time within 6 months after the lease was
entered into, unless subsection (3) prevents
termination.(3) The lessee cannot terminate the lease under this section on the
ground that the disclosure statement is incomplete or contains information
that is materially false or misleading if:(a) the lessor has acted honestly and reasonably and ought reasonably
to be excused for the failure concerned, and
(b) the lessee is in substantially as good a position as the lessee
would have been if the failure had not occurred.
(4) If a lease is entered into by way of the renewal of a lease, a
written statement (a lessor’s disclosure
update) that updates the provisions of an earlier disclosure
statement given to the lessee is, in conjunction with that earlier disclosure
statement, considered to be a disclosure statement given for the purposes of
this section at the time the lessor’s disclosure update is
given.(5) The termination of a lease under this section does not affect any
right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under
the lease in respect of any period before its
termination.(6) A lessor under a retail shop lease is guilty of an offence if
subsection (1) is not complied with in relation to the lease.Maximum penalty: 50 penalty
units.11A Lessee’s disclosure statement(1) Not later than 7 days after receiving a lessor’s disclosure
statement, or within such further period as may be agreed with the prospective
lessor, the lessor must be given a lessee’s disclosure statement. A
lessee’s disclosure statement is a statement in writing that contains
the information that is contained in or required to complete the form of
lessee’s disclosure statement set out in Part 2 of the form contained in
Schedule 2 (but only to the extent that it is relevant to the lease
concerned). The layout of the lessee’s disclosure statement need not
comply with that of the form set out in Part 2 of the form contained in
Schedule 2.(2) If a lease is entered into by way of the renewal of a lease, a
written statement (a lessee’s disclosure
update) that updates the provisions of an earlier lessee’s
disclosure statement given to the lessor is, in conjunction with that earlier
lessee’s disclosure statement, considered to be the lessee’s
disclosure statement given for the purposes of this section at the time the
lessee’s disclosure update is given.(3) A lessee under a retail shop lease is guilty of an offence if
units.(4) The regulations may prescribe additional matters to be included in
the form of lessee’s disclosure statement for the purposes of this
section.12 Lessee not required to pay undisclosed
contributionsA provision of a retail shop lease that requires the lessee to pay
or contribute towards the cost of any finishes, fixtures, fittings, equipment
or services is void unless the liability to make the payment or contribution
was disclosed in a disclosure statement given to the lessee in accordance with
this Part.13 Lease preparation costs(1) If the lessee is liable to pay any amount to the lessor in respect
of legal or other expenses incurred by the lessor in connection with the
preparation of a retail shop lease, the lessor must provide the lessee with a
copy of any account presented to the lessor in respect of those expenses and
the lessee is not required to make any such payment until the lessor has
complied with this requirement.(2) Despite any provision of the lease or other agreement, the lessee
is not liable to pay more than a reasonable sum in respect of any legal or
other expenses incurred in connection with the preparation of the lease by the
lessor.(3) This section does not preclude any right the lessor may have to
recover a reasonable sum in respect of any legal or other expenses incurred in
connection with the preparation of a lease by the lessor from a person who
enters into and then withdraws from negotiations with the lessor in respect of
the lease.14 Key-money prohibited(1) A person must not, as lessor or on behalf of the lessor, seek or
accept the payment of key-money in connection with the granting of a retail
shop lease and any provision of a retail shop lease is void to the extent that
it requires or has the effect of requiring the payment of key-money in
connection with the granting of the lease.(2) If a person contravenes this section:(a) the person is guilty of an offence and liable to a penalty not
exceeding 100 penalty units, and
(b) (whether or not the person is convicted of an offence under
paragraph (a)) the lessee is entitled to recover from the lessor as a debt any
payment made or the value of any benefit conferred by the lessee and accepted
by or on behalf of the lessor in contravention of this
(3) This section does not prevent a lessor:(a) from requiring payment by the lessee of a reasonable sum in
respect of any legal or other expenses incurred in connection with the
preparation and entering into of the lease, or
(b) from receiving payment of rent in advance, or
(c) from securing performance of the lessee’s obligations under
the lease by requiring the provision of a bond or security deposit or a
guarantee from the lessee or any other person (such as a requirement that the
directors of a company that is the lessee guarantee performance of the
company’s obligations under the lease), or
(d) from seeking and accepting payment for goodwill of a business from
a purchaser of the business, but only to the extent that the goodwill is
attributable to the conduct of the business by the lessor,
(e) from seeking and accepting payment for plant, equipment, fixtures
or fittings that are sold by the lessor to the lessee in connection with the
granting of the lease, or
(f) from seeking and accepting payment for the grant of a franchise in
connection with the granting of the lease.
15 Lease documentation(1) A retail shop lease is taken to include provision to the following
effect:(a) If the lease is not to be registered, the lessor must provide the
lessee with an executed copy of the stamped lease within 1 month after the
lease is returned to the lessor or the lessor’s lawyer or agent
following payment of stamp duty on the lease.
(b) If the lease is to be registered, the lessor must lodge the lease
for registration within 1 month after the lease is returned to the lessor or
the lessor’s lawyer or agent following payment of stamp duty on the
lease and the lessor must provide the lessee with an executed copy of the
stamped and registered lease within 1 month after the lease is returned to the
lessor or the lessor’s lawyer or agent following registration of the
(c) The periods specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) are to be extended
for delays attributable to the need to obtain any consent from a head lessor
(d) In paragraphs (a) and (b), registered means
(2) This section does not affect the operation of the Stamp Duties Act 1920 or the Real Property Act
1900.16 Minimum 5 year term(1) The term for which a retail shop lease is entered into, together
with any further term or terms provided for by any agreement or option for the
acquisition by the lessee of a further term as an extension or renewal of the
lease, must not be less than 5 years. An agreement or option is not taken into
account if it was entered into or conferred after the lease was entered
into.(2) If a lease is entered into in contravention of this section, the
validity of the lease is not thereby affected but the term of the lease is
extended by such period as may be necessary to prevent the lease contravening
this section.Note. For example, if a lease is entered into for a term of 3 years, its
term is extended by 2 years to 5 years. If a lease is entered into for a term
of 2 years with an option for a further 1 year after that initial 2 years, the
term of the lease is extended to 4 years (with the option for a further 1 year
after that initial 4 years).(3) This section does not apply to a lease if a lawyer, or a licensed
conveyancer, not acting for the lessor certifies in writing that he or she
has, at the request of the prospective lessee, explained the effect of
subsections (1) and (2) to the prospective lessee and that the giving of the
certificate will result in this section not applying to the
lease.(4) This section does not apply to a lease that results from the
renewal of an earlier lease pursuant to an option conferred on the lessee, so
long as there was no break in the entitlement of the lessee to possession of
the retail shop and the option was granted by that earlier lease or by an
agreement entered into before or at the same time as that earlier lease was
entered into.Note. Because of subsection (4), a lease will not be required to be for
5 years if it is a renewal of an earlier lease (because the minimum 5 year
term requirement applied to the earlier lease and the availability of the
renewal will have been taken into account in determining the term of that
earlier lease).(5) This section does not apply to a lease to the extent that its
application would be inconsistent with the terms of any head lease under which
the lessor holds the retail shop.Part 3 Rent and outgoings17 Payment of rent when lessor’s fitout not
completed(1) This section applies to a retail shop lease if:(a) the liability of the lessee to pay rent under the lease commences
on the lessee entering into possession of the retail shop (whether or not the
lessee is required to enter into possession by a specified date),
(b) the lessor has fitout obligations under the lease (that is, the
lessor is required to provide any finishes, fixtures, fittings, equipment or
services before the lessee enters into possession of the
(2) A retail shop lease to which this section applies is taken to
provide that:(a) the lessee is not liable to pay rent, or any other amount payable
under the lease by the lessee (such as an amount payable in respect of
outgoings), in respect of any period before the lessor has substantially
complied with the lessor’s fitout obligations, and
(b) the lessor is not entitled to deny the lessee possession of the
retail shop merely because the lessor has not complied with the lessor’s
fitout obligations under the lease.
18 Restrictions on adjustment of base rent(1) In this section:base rent
means rent, or that component of rent, which comprises a specified amount of
money (whether or not there is provision for the amount to
change).Note. Turnover rent (rent determined by reference to the lessee’s
turnover) is not base rent because turnover rent is not a specified amount of
money (it varies according to the lessee’s
turnover).(2) A retail shop lease must not provide for a change to base rent
less than 12 months after the lease is entered into and must not provide for a
change to that rent less than 12 months after any previous change to that
rent. This subsection does not apply to a change to base rent by a specified
amount or specified percentage.Note. For example, subsection (2) prevents a lease providing for an
increase to current market rent more than once in 12 months. It does not
prevent a lease providing for the rent to increase by $100 every 6 months. Nor
does it prevent a lease providing for the rent to be increased to current
market rent after 12 months and then to be increased by 2% every 6 months
after that.(3) A provision of a retail shop lease is void to the extent that
it:(a) reserves or has the effect of reserving to one party a discretion
as to which of 2 or more methods of calculating a change to base rent is to
apply on a particular occasion of a change to that rent,
(b) provides for a method of calculating a change to the base rent but
reserves or has the effect of reserving to one party a discretion as to
whether or not the base rent is to be changed in accordance with that method
on a particular occasion, or
(c) provides for base rent to change on a particular occasion in
accordance with whichever of 2 or more methods of calculating the change would
result in the higher or highest rent.
(4) If a retail shop lease provides for a change to base rent in a way
that has the potential to cause that rent to decrease (such as a provision for
the rent to change to current market rent), a provision of the lease is void
to the extent that it:(a) prevents or enables the lessor or any other person to prevent base
rent decreasing pursuant to the change, or
(b) limits or specifies, or allows the limitation or specification of,
the amount by which the base rent is to decrease.
19 Reviews to current market rent(1) A retail shop lease that provides for rent to be changed to
current market rent is taken to include provision to the following
effect:(a) The current market rent is the rent that would reasonably be
expected to be paid for the shop, determined on an effective rent basis,
having regard to the following matters:(i) the provisions of the lease,
(ii) the rent that would reasonably be expected to be paid for the shop
if it were unoccupied and offered for renting for the same or a substantially
similar use to which the shop may be put under the lease,
(iii) the gross rent, less the lessor’s outgoings payable by the
(iv) rent concessions and other benefits that are frequently or
generally offered to prospective lessees of unoccupied retail
The current market rent is not to take into account the value of
goodwill created by the lessee’s occupation or the value of the
lessee’s fixtures and fittings on the retail shop
(b) If the lessor and the lessee do not agree as to what the actual
amount of that rent is to be, the amount of the rent is to be determined by
valuation carried out by a specialist retail valuer appointed by agreement
between the parties to the lease, or failing agreement, appointed by the
person for the time being holding or acting in the office of President of the
Australian Property Institute (NSW) or President of the Real Estate Institute
(NSW).Note. The parties may agree to appoint a specialist retail valuer
nominated by the President of the Australian Property Institute (NSW) or the
President of the Real Estate Institute (NSW), or nominated by some other
person of the parties’ choice.
(c) The matters set out in paragraph (a) are to be taken into account
by a specialist retail valuer appointed under paragraph (b) in determining the
(d) The lessor must, not later than 14 days after a request by a
specialist retail valuer appointed under paragraph (b), supply the valuer with
relevant information about leases for retail shops situated in the same
building or retail shopping centre to assist the valuer to determine the
(e) A valuation for the purposes of paragraph (b) is to be in writing,
to contain detailed reasons for the specialist retail valuer’s
determination and to specify the matters to which the valuer had regard for
the purposes of making his or her determination.
(f) The parties to the lease are to pay the costs of a valuation by a
specialist retail valuer appointed under paragraph (b) in equal
Note. The procedure provided by this section can be avoided if the
parties can come to an agreement as to what the rent is to
be.(2) A specialist retail valuer must make a valuation of a current
market rent for the purposes referred to in this section not later than 1
month after accepting the appointment to make the
valuation.(3) A specialist retail valuer may apply to the Tribunal under Part 8
for an order that a lessor comply with a request referred to in subsection (1)
(d) to supply relevant information about leases for retail shops situated in
the same building or retail shopping centre to assist the valuer to determine
the rent.19A Information supplied to valuer(1) A specialist retail valuer who is supplied with information by a
lessor or a lessee for the purpose of determining under section 19 the amount
of rent under a retail shop lease must not:(a) use or permit the use of the information for any purpose other
than to determine the current market rent for the lease concerned,
(b) communicate or divulge that information to any other person or
permit that information to be communicated or divulged to any other
units.(2) This section does not prevent the specialist retail valuer using
or communicating or divulging that information, or permitting any other person
to do so, in the following circumstances:(a) in accordance with a consent of both the lessor and the
(b) to a court or tribunal,
(c) in a way that does not disclose information identifying a
particular lease or lessee, or relating to a lessee’s business, for the
purpose of specifying the matters taken into consideration in making the
determination concerned.
(3) A specialist retail valuer who contravenes this section is liable
to pay to the lessor or lessee concerned compensation for any loss or damage
suffered by the lessor or lessee as a result of the information being so used
or communicated or divulged. The amount of the compensation is to be the
amount agreed between the valuer and the person seeking compensation or, in
the event of a failure to agree, as determined by the Tribunal under Part
8.20 Turnover rent(1) For the purposes of any provision of a retail shop lease that
relates to the determination of rent or a component of rent by reference to
turnover, turnover does
not include any of the following:(a) the amount of losses incurred in the resale or disposal of
merchandise reasonably and properly purchased from customers as trade-ins in
the usual course of business,
(b) the amount of deposits and instalments received on account of
lay-bys, hire purchase or credit sales, and which are refunded to
(c) the amount of a refund on a transaction when the proceeds of the
transaction have been included as part of turnover,
(d) the amount of any service, finance or interest charges payable to
any financier in connection with provision of credit to customers (other than
commissions on credit or store cards),
(e) the price of merchandise exchanged between shops of the lessee if
the exchange is made solely for the convenient operation of the business of
the lessee and not for the purpose of concluding a sale made at or from the
shop to which the lease relates,
(f) the price of merchandise returns to shippers, wholesalers or
(g) the proceeds of sale of the lessee’s fixtures and fittings
after their use in the conduct of business at or from the retail shop to which
the lease relates,
(h) the amount of discounts allowed to customers in the normal course
(i) the amount of uncollected credit accounts that are written
(j) the amount paid or payable by the lessee as
(k) the amount of delivery charges,
(l) the amount received from the sale of lottery tickets and similar
tickets (other than commission on those sales).
(2) The lease is taken to provide for any underpayment or overpayment
of rent (resulting from actual turnover differing from projected or presumed
turnover) to be adjusted within 1 month after the lessee requests the lessor
in writing for such an adjustment and provides the lessor with such
information as the lessor may reasonably require to make the
adjustment.(3) The lessee may make a request for such an adjustment only once in
the first 12 months of the lease term and thereafter only at intervals of not
less than 12 months following the first request for an adjustment under the
lease. This subsection does not prevent the lease providing for, or the
parties otherwise agreeing to, more frequent adjustments than are provided for
by this section.(4) For the purposes of this section, the concept of
“turnover” includes gross takings, gross receipts, gross income
and similar concepts.21 Special rent—cost of fitoutNothing in this Act prevents a retail shop lease from providing
for the payment of a special rent (in addition to any other rent) to cover the
cost of fitout, fixtures, fittings and equipment installed or provided by the
lessor at the lessor’s expense.22 Recovery of outgoings from lessee(1) The lessee under a retail shop lease is not liable to pay any
amount to the lessor in respect of any outgoings except in accordance with
provisions of the lease that specify:(a) the outgoings that are to be regarded as recoverable,
(b) how the amount of those outgoings will be determined and how they
will be apportioned to the lessee, and
(c) how those outgoings or any part of them may be recovered by the
lessor from the lessee.
(2) In this Part, the expression outgoings to
which the lessee contributes refers to any outgoings in respect of
which the lessee is liable under the lease to make any payment to the
lessor.(3) Costs associated with the advertising or promotion of a retail
shop or retail shopping centre, or of any business carried on there, are not
outgoings for the purposes of this section.22A Recovery by lessor of GST(1) An agreement that was made between a lessor and a lessee before
the date of commencement of this section (whether or not the agreement is
contained in a lease), to the extent to which it provides for the payment by
or recovery from the lessee of the amount of any GST payable in respect of the
lease, is valid and is taken at all relevant times to have been validly
made.(2) This section has effect despite any other provision of this
Act.23 Capital costs not recoverable from lesseeA provision in a retail shop lease is void to the extent that it
requires the lessee to pay any amount in respect of the capital costs of the
building in which the retail shop is located or (in the case of a retail shop
in a retail shopping centre) of any building in the retail shopping centre or
any areas used in association with any such building.24 Depreciation not recoverable from lesseeA provision in a retail shop lease is void to the extent that it
requires the lessee to pay any amount in respect of
depreciation.24A Interest and charges incurred by lessor on borrowings not
recoverable from lesseeA provision in a retail shop lease is void to the extent that it
requires the lessee to pay an amount in respect of interest or other charges
incurred by the lessor in respect of amounts borrowed by the
lessor.24B Rent and other costs associated with other land not
recoverable from lessee(1) A provision in a retail shop lease is void to the extent that it
requires the lessee to pay an amount in respect of rent and other costs
associated with unrelated land.(2) In this section:unrelated
land means land other than:(a) land on which the building or retail shopping centre of which the
retail shop forms part is situated, or
(b) land of the lessor used by or for the benefit of the lessees
conducting business in that building or retail shopping centre or in
connection with trading in that building or retail shopping
25 Sinking fund for major repairs and maintenanceIf a retail shop lease provides for the establishment of a sinking
fund to fund provision for major items of repair or maintenance, the lease is
taken to include provision to the following effect:(a) Any amount paid by the lessee in respect of the lessor’s
outgoings on account of those major items of repair or maintenance is to be
paid into the sinking fund.
(b) So much of the balance standing to the credit of the sinking fund
as remains unexpended from time to time for any purpose for which the sinking
fund was established is to be held by the lessor in an account bearing
(c) Amounts paid by the lessee for credit of the sinking fund, and the
net interest earned by the lessor on the sinking fund, must not be applied by
the lessor for any purpose other than payment of any outgoings for which the
sinking fund was established.
(d) The lessor is liable to contribute to the sinking fund any
deficiency attributable to a failure by the lessor or any predecessor in title
of the lessor to comply with paragraph (c).Note. The effect of paragraph (d) will be that a purchaser of the shop
from the lessor will have to ensure that the sinking fund has been properly
administered and maintained by the previous lessor because the incoming lessor
will be liable for any shortfall.
(e) The major items of repair or maintenance for which contribution to
the sinking fund may be required by the lessee are limited to repair or
maintenance of a building, or plant and equipment of a building, in which the
retail shop is situated or, in the case of a retail shopping centre, to the
buildings, plant and equipment and areas used in association with the retail
shopping centre in which the retail shop is situated.
(f) The lessee is not liable to contribute an amount to the sinking
fund that is greater than the maximum amount permitted under the
(g) The lessor must keep full and accurate accounts of all money
received or held by the lessor in respect of the sinking
(h) The lessor must give the lessee, not later than 3 months after the
end of each accounting period of the lessor during the term of the lease, a
sinking fund statement containing details of expenditure during the period
from the fund on items for which the lessee is required to contribute. The
lessor must also provide with the statement a report on the statement prepared
by a registered company auditor (within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 of the
(i) A sinking fund statement provided by a lessor to a lessee is to be
prepared in accordance with the relevant principles and disclosure
requirements of applicable accounting standards made by the Australian
Accounting Standards Board, as in force from time to
25A Limits on sinking funds(1) This section applies to the lessor under a retail shop lease that
provides for the establishment of a sinking fund to fund provision for major
items of repair or maintenance.(2) The lessor must not establish more than one sinking fund at any
one time in respect of retail shop leases for retail shops situated in the
same building or retail shopping centre.(3) The lessor must not require or accept contributions to the sinking
fund in respect of any retail shop situated in a retail shopping centre that
total an amount that exceeds 5% of the total of the lessor’s estimated
outgoings for the year concerned in respect of the retail shopping
centre.(4) The lessor must not require or accept contributions by a lessee to
the sinking fund if the amount outstanding to the credit of the sinking fund
is more than $250,000.Maximum penalty: 50 penalty
units.25B Sinking fund repayment(1) This section applies to the lessor under a retail shop lease of a
retail shop that provides for the establishment of a sinking fund to fund
provision for major items of repair or maintenance.(2) If the building or retail shopping centre in which the retail shop
is located is destroyed or demolished or, in the case of a retail shopping
centre, the retail shopping centre ceases to operate, the lessor must repay to
each lessee liable to contribute to the sinking fund the amount payable to the
lessee.(3) The amount payable to the lessee is that proportion of the total
amount outstanding to the credit of the sinking fund that is equal to the
proportion that the lettable area of the lessee’s retail shop bears to
the total lettable area of all the shops in respect of which contributions are
required to be made to the fund.(4) In this section:lessor and
lessee mean the persons
who were the lessor and lessee, respectively, under a retail shop lease
immediately before the destruction or demolition of the building, or
immediately before the retail shopping centre ceased to
operate.26 Limit on recovery of land tax(1) A provision of a retail shop lease which requires the lessee to
pay money to the lessor in respect of outgoings attributable to land tax
payable by the lessor is taken to include provision that the liability of the
lessee is not to exceed the amount of that liability had the amount of land
tax payable by the lessor been assessed on the basis that:(a) the land concerned was the only land owned by the lessor,
(b) the land concerned was not subject to a special trust (within the
meaning of the Land Tax Management Act
1956), and
(c) the lessor was not a company classified under section 29 of that
Act as a non-concessional company.
concerned is the land on which the building or retail shopping
centre of which the retail shop forms part is situated, together with all the
other land of the lessor used or available for use by or for the benefit of
the lessees conducting business in that building or retail shopping centre or
in connection with trading in that building or retail shopping centre. In the
case of a shop comprising a strata lot under the Strata Schemes (Freehold Development) Act
(Leasehold Development) Act 1986, the land concerned is the
strata lot.27 Estimates of outgoings to be provided by lessorA retail shop lease is taken to include provision to the following
effect:(a) The lessor must give the lessee a written estimate of the
outgoings to which the lessee contributes under the lease, itemising those
outgoings under the item descriptions used in the list of outgoings in the
form of lessor’s disclosure statement set out in Part 1 of the form
contained in Schedule 2.
(b) The estimate of outgoings must be given to the lessee in respect
of each accounting period of the lessor during the term of the lease and must
be given before the lease is entered into and thereafter during the term of
the lease at least 1 month before the commencement of the accounting period
outgoingsA retail shop lease is taken to include provision to the following
effect:(a) The lessor must give the lessee a written statement (an outgoings statement)
that details all expenditure by the lessor in each accounting period of the
lessor during the term of the lease on account of outgoings to which the
lessee is required to contribute.
(b) If the shop is in a retail shopping centre, the outgoings
statement must include a statement of the current gross lettable area of the
shopping centre and details of any material change in that gross lettable area
during the period to which the outgoings statement
(c) The outgoings statement is to be prepared in accordance with
relevant principles and disclosure requirements of applicable accounting
standards made by the Australian Accounting Standards Board, as in force from
(d) The outgoings statement is to be given to the lessee within 3
months after the end of the accounting period to which it
(e) The outgoings statement is to be accompanied by a report (an
report) on the statement prepared by a registered company auditor
2001 of the Commonwealth).
(f) The auditor’s report is to include a statement by the
auditor as to whether or not the outgoings statement correctly states the
expenditure by the lessor during the accounting period concerned in respect of
outgoings to which the lessee is required to contribute, and as to whether or
not the total amount of estimated outgoings for that period (as shown in the
estimate of outgoings given to the lessee) exceeded the total actual
expenditure by the lessor in respect of those outgoings during that
(g) The outgoings statement may be a composite statement (that is, it
may relate to more than one lessee) so long as each lessee to which it relates
is able to ascertain from the statement the information required by paragraph
(a) that is relevant to that lessee.
(h) The outgoings statement need not be accompanied by an
auditor’s report if the statement does not relate to any outgoings other
than land tax, water, sewerage and drainage rates and charges, local council
rates and charges and insurance, and it is accompanied by copies of
assessments, invoices, receipts or other proof of payment in respect of all
expenditure by the lessor as referred to in paragraph
expenditure properly and reasonably incurredA retail shop lease is taken to include provision to the following
effect:(a) There is to be an adjustment between the lessor and the lessee for
each accounting period of the lessor to take account of any under-payment or
over-payment by the lessee in respect of outgoings during the period. The
adjustment is to take place within 1 month after the lessor gives the lessee
the outgoings statement referred to in section 28 for the period concerned and
must in any event take place within 4 months after the end of that
(b) The adjustment is to be calculated on the basis of the difference
between the total amount of outgoings in respect of which the lessee
contributed (that is, the estimated total expenditure by the lessor on
outgoings during the period concerned) and the total amount actually expended
by the lessor in respect of those outgoings during that period, but taking
into account only expenditure properly and reasonably incurred by the lessor
in payment of those outgoings.
(c) Contribution by the lessee towards, and expenditure by the lessor
in respect of, repairs and maintenance is not to be taken into account for the
purposes of the adjustment to the extent that the contribution is, and the
expenditure is in respect of, contributions required to be paid into a sinking
fund as referred to in section 25.
lettable area(1) A lessee under a retail shop lease in a retail shopping centre is
not liable to contribute towards a non-specific outgoing of the lessor (that
is, an outgoing not specifically referable to any particular shop in the
retail shopping centre) unless the shop is one of the shops to which the
outgoing is referable, and is not liable to contribute an amount in excess of
an amount calculated by multiplying the total amount of that outgoing by the
ratio of the lettable area of the shop to the total of the lettable areas of
all the retail shops to which the outgoing is
referable.(2) An outgoing is referable to a retail shop if
the shop is one of the shops that enjoys or shares the benefit resulting from
the outgoing.(3) An outgoing on account of GST payable by the lessor in respect of
rent payable under a lease is not a non-specific outgoing of the lessor for
the purposes of this section.Note. This section prevents a lessee being required to make up for any
shortfall in outgoings recouped by the lessor that is attributable to vacant
shops or concessions allowed to other lessees.31 Reviews to current market rent(1) A retail shop lease that provides an option to renew or extend the
lease at current market rent is taken to include provision to the following
(e) A valuation for the purposes of paragraph (b) is to be in writing
and to contain detailed reasons for the specialist retail valuer’s
the rent.31A Information supplied to valuer(1) A specialist retail valuer who is supplied with information by a
lessor or a lessee for the purpose of determining under section 31 the amount
the event of a failure to agree, as determined by the
Tribunal.32 Opportunity for lessee to have current market rent
determined early(1) A retail shop lease which provides an option to renew or extend
the lease at current market rent is taken to include provision to the
following effect:(a) The lessee is entitled to request a determination of the current
market rent at any time within the period that begins 6 months before and ends
3 months before the last day on which the option may be exercised under the
lease, but may not make such a request if the lessor and the lessee have
already agreed as to what the actual amount of that rent is to
(b) The lessee makes such a request by giving notice in writing of the
request to the lessor.
(c) If the lessee makes such a request, the amount of the current
market rent is to be determined (as at the time of the request) in accordance
with the provisions of section 31, and the period within which the lessee must
exercise the option is varied so that the last day on which the option may be
exercised is 21 days after the determination of rent is made and notified to
the lessee in writing or the last day of the term of the lease, whichever is
(d) The parties agree that the amount of rent determined under
paragraph (c) is the current market rent for the purposes of the exercise of
the option (even though it may be a determination of the current market rent
as at some earlier time).
(e) The parties to the lease are to pay the costs of the determination
of current market rent in equal shares.
(2) If the term of the lease is 12 months or less, the periods of 6
months and 3 months in this section are shortened to 3 months and 30 days
respectively.Part 4 Alterations and other interference with the
shop33 Lessee to be given notice of alterations and
refurbishmentA retail shop lease is taken to provide that the lessor must not
commence to carry out any alteration or refurbishment of the building or
retail shopping centre of which the retail shop forms part which is likely to
adversely affect the business of the lessee unless:(a) the lessor has notified the lessee in writing of the proposed
alteration or refurbishment at least 2 months before it is commenced,
(b) the alteration or refurbishment is necessitated by an emergency
and the lessor has given the lessee the maximum period of notice that is
34 Lessee to be compensated for disturbance(1) A retail shop lease is taken to provide that if the lessor:(a) inhibits access of the lessee to the shop in any substantial
(b) takes any action that would inhibit or alter, to a substantial
extent, the flow of customers to the shop, or
(c) unreasonably takes any action that causes significant disruption
of, or has a significant adverse effect on, trading of the lessee in the shop,
(d) fails to take all reasonable steps to prevent or put a stop to
anything that causes significant disruption of, or which has a significant
adverse effect on, trading of the lessee in the shop and that is attributable
to causes within the lessor’s control, or
(e) fails to rectify any breakdown of plant or equipment under the
lessor’s care or maintenance, or
(f) in the case of a shop within a retail shopping centre, fails to
adequately clean, maintain or repair the retail shopping centre (including
common areas),
and the lessor does not rectify the matter as soon as reasonably
practicable after being requested in writing by the lessee to do so, the
lessor is liable to pay the lessee reasonable compensation for any loss or
damage (other than nominal damage) suffered by the lessee as a
consequence.(2) In determining whether a lessor has acted unreasonably for the
purposes of subsection (1) (c), due consideration is to be given to whether
the lessor has acted in accordance with recognised shopping centre management
practices.(3) A retail shop lease may include a provision preventing or limiting
a claim for compensation under the provisions implied by this section in
respect of any particular occurrence if the likelihood of the occurrence was
specifically drawn to the attention of the lessee in writing before the lease
was entered into.Note. A disclosure statement is an appropriate means of specifically
drawing the attention of the lessee to the likelihood of an
occurrence.(4) The provisions implied by this section do not apply to any action
taken by the lessor:(a) as a reasonable response to an emergency situation,
(b) in compliance with any duty imposed by or under an Act or
resulting from a requirement imposed by a public or local authority acting
under the authority of an Act.
34A RelocationIf a retail shop lease contains provision that enables the
business of the lessee to be relocated, the lease is taken to include
provision to the following effect:(a) The lessee’s business cannot be required to be relocated
unless and until the lessor has provided the lessee with details of a proposed
refurbishment, redevelopment or extension sufficient to indicate a genuine
proposal that is to be carried out within a reasonably practicable time after
relocation of the lessee’s business and that cannot be carried out
practicably without vacant possession of the lessee’s
(b) The lessee’s business cannot be required to be relocated
unless the lessor has given the lessee at least 3 months written notice of
relocation and that notice gives details of an alternative shop to be made
available to the lessee within the retail shopping centre. Such a notice is
referred to as a relocation
(c) The lessee is entitled to be offered a new lease of the
alternative shop on the same terms and conditions as the existing lease except
that the term of the new lease is to be for the remainder of the term of the
existing lease. The rent for the alternative shop is to be the same as the
rent for the existing retail shop, adjusted to take into account the
difference in the commercial values of the existing retail shop and the
alternative shop at the time of relocation.Note. Paragraph (c) only specifies the minimum entitlements that the
lessee can insist on. It does not prevent the lessee from accepting other
arrangements offered by the lessor when the details of a relocation are being
(d) If a relocation notice is given to the lessee, the lessee may
terminate the lease within 1 month after the relocation notice is given by
giving written notice of termination to the lessor, in which case the lease is
terminated 3 months after the relocation notice was given unless the parties
agree that it is to terminate at some other time.
(e) If the lessee does not give a notice of termination as referred to
in paragraph (d), the lessee is taken to have accepted the offer of a lease as
referred to in paragraph (c), unless the parties have agreed to a lease on
(f) The lessee is entitled to payment by the lessor of the
lessee’s reasonable costs of the relocation, including (but without
being limited to) costs incurred by the lessee in dismantling and reinstalling
any fixtures and fittings, and legal costs, in connection with the
Note. This section does not prevent the parties negotiating a new 5 year
lease for the purpose of relocating the lessee. Paragraph (f) only specifies
the minimum entitlements that the lessee can insist on and the parties can
come to some other arrangement for the payment or sharing of the
lessee’s relocation costs when the details of a relocation are being
negotiated.35 Demolition(1) If a retail shop lease provides for termination of the lease on
the grounds of proposed demolition of the building of which the retail shop
forms part, the lease is taken to include provision to the following
effect:(a) The lease cannot be terminated on that ground unless and until the
lessor has provided the lessee with details of the proposed demolition
sufficient to indicate a genuine proposal to demolish that building within a
reasonably practicable time after the lease is to be
(b) The lease cannot be terminated by the lessor on that ground
without at least 6 months written notice of termination.
(c) If notice of termination on that ground is given to the lessee,
the lessee may terminate the lease by giving the lessor not less than 7 days
written notice of termination at any time within 6 months before the
termination date notified by the lessor.
(2) If the lease is for a term of 12 months or less, the period of 6
months in subsection (1) (b) and (c) is shortened in each case to 3
months.(3) If a retail shop lease is terminated on such a ground and
demolition of the building is not carried out within a reasonably practicable
time after the termination date notified by the lessor, the lessor is liable
to pay the lessee reasonable compensation for damage suffered by the lessee as
a consequence of the early termination of the lease, unless the lessor
establishes that at the time notice of termination was given by the lessor
there was a genuine proposal to demolish the premises within that
time.(3A) If a retail shop lease is terminated on such a ground, the lessor
is liable to pay the lessee compensation for the fitout of the retail shop if
the lessee is required under the lease to fit out the retail shop, whether or
not the demolition of the building is carried out.(4) For the purposes of this section, demolition of the building of
which a retail shop forms part includes any substantial repair, renovation or
reconstruction of the building that cannot be carried out practicably without
vacant possession of the shop.36 Damaged premises(1) A retail shop lease is taken to provide for the following if the
shop or the building of which the shop forms part is damaged:(a) The lessee is not liable to pay rent, or any amount payable to the
lessor in respect of outgoings or other charges, that is attributable to any
period during which the shop cannot be used under the lease or is inaccessible
due to that damage.
(b) If the shop is still useable under the lease but its useability is
diminished due to the damage, the lessee’s liability for rent and any
amount in respect of outgoings attributable to any period during which
useability is diminished is reduced in proportion to the reduction in
useability caused by the damage.
(c) If the lessor notifies the lessee in writing that the lessor
considers that the damage is such as to make its repair impracticable or
undesirable, the lessor or the lessee may terminate the lease by giving not
less than 7 days notice in writing to the other and no compensation is payable
in respect of that termination.
(d) If the lessor fails to repair the damage within a reasonable time
after the lessee requests the lessor in writing to do so, the lessee may
terminate the lease by giving not less than 7 days notice in writing of
termination to the lessor.
(e) Paragraphs (a)–(d) do not affect any right of the lessor to
recover damages from the lessee in respect of any damage or destruction to
which those paragraphs apply.
(2) A retail shop lease must not contain any provision the effect of
which is to limit any liability of a party to the lease to pay compensation to
another party to the lease in respect of damage to the shop or the building of
which the shop forms part.(3) Nothing in this section prevents the parties to a lease from
terminating the lease by agreement if the shop or the building of which it
forms part is damaged or destroyed.37 Employment restrictionA retail shop lease must not contain any provision which limits or
has the effect of limiting the lessee’s right to employ persons of the
lessee’s own choosing, but this section does not prevent the lease
containing any one or more of the following provisions:(a) a provision specifying minimum standards of competence and
behaviour for persons employed in the shop or other persons (such as
contractors) doing work in the shop,
(b) a provision prohibiting work from being carried out on specified
items of the lessor’s property,
(c) a provision requiring the lessee to comply with the requirements
of any industrial award, industrial agreement or enterprise agreement (such as
a construction site agreement) affecting any retail shopping centre in which
the shop is situated.
38 Refurbishment and refittingProvision in a retail shop lease requiring the lessee to refurbish
or refit the shop is void unless it gives such details of the required
refurbishment or refitting as may be necessary to indicate generally the
nature, extent and timing of the required refurbishment or
refitting.Part 5 Assignment and termination39 Grounds on which consent to assignment can be
withheld(1) The lessor is entitled to withhold consent to the assignment of a
retail shop lease in any of the following circumstances (and is not entitled
to withhold that consent in any other circumstances):(a) if the proposed assignee proposes to change the use to which the
shop is put,
(b) if the proposed assignee has financial resources or retailing
skills that are inferior to those of the proposed
(c) if the lessee has not complied with section 41 (Procedure for
obtaining consent to assignment),
(d) the circumstances set out in section
(2) This section does not preclude any right of the lessor to require
payment of a reasonable sum in respect of any legal or other expenses incurred
in connection with the consent, so long as the lessor has substantiated those
expenses to the lessee at the request of the
lessee.40 Key-money on assignment prohibited(1) A person must not, as lessor or on behalf of the lessor, seek or
accept the payment of key-money in connection with the granting of consent to
the assignment of a retail shop lease and any provision of a retail shop lease
is void to the extent that it requires or has the effect of requiring the
payment of key-money in connection with the granting of consent to the
assignment of the lease.(2) If a person contravenes this section:(a) the person is guilty of an offence and liable to a penalty not
(3) This section does not preclude any right of the lessor to require
in connection with such a consent. The lessee is entitled to have those
expenses substantiated by the lessor before making such a
payment.Note. This section and section 39 do not prevent the lessor and a
proposed assignee entering into a new lease of the retail shop as an
alternative to an assignment of the existing lease.41 Procedure for obtaining consent to assignmentA retail shop lease is taken to include the following
provisions:(a) A request for the lessor’s consent to an assignment of the
lease must be made in writing and the lessee must provide the lessor with such
information as the lessor may reasonably require concerning the financial
standing and business experience of the proposed assignee. The lessee may
provide the lessor with a copy of a statement in writing that contains the
information that is contained in or required to complete the form set out in
Schedule 2A that has been provided to the proposed assignee. The statement may
be provided if the assignment is in connection with the lease of a retail shop
that will continue to be an ongoing business. The layout of the statement need
not comply with that of the form set out in Schedule 2A.
(b) Before requesting the consent of the lessor to a proposed
assignment of the lease, the lessee must furnish the proposed assignee with a
copy of any disclosure statement given to the lessee in respect of the lease,
together with details of any changes that have occurred in respect of the
information contained in that disclosure statement since it was given to the
lessee (being changes of which the lessee is aware or could reasonably be
expected to be aware). The lessee may provide the proposed assignee with a
copy of a statement in writing that contains the information that is contained
in or required to complete the form set out in Schedule 2A. The statement may
(c) For the purpose of enabling the lessee to comply with paragraph
(b), the lessee is entitled to request the lessor to provide the lessee with a
copy of the disclosure statement concerned and, if the lessor is unable or
unwilling to comply with such a request within 14 days after it is made,
paragraph (b) does not apply to the lessee.
(d) The lessor must deal expeditiously with a request for consent and
is taken to have consented to the assignment if the lessee has complied with
paragraphs (a) and (b) and the lessor has not within 42 days after the request
was made given notice in writing to the lessee either consenting or
withholding consent.
41A Protection of assignors and guarantors(1) A person who assigns a retail shop lease in connection with the
lease of a retail shop that will continue to be an ongoing business, or a
guarantor or covenantor of the person, is not liable to pay to the lessor any
money in respect of amounts payable by the person to whom the lease is
assigned if the former lessee gave:(a) the lessor a copy of the assignor’s disclosure statement as
referred to in section 41 (a), and
(b) the proposed assignee a copy of the assignor’s disclosure
statement as referred to in section 41 (b).
(2) This section does not apply to a former lessee, guarantor or
covenantor or a lessor if the assignor’s disclosure statement contains
information that is materially false or misleading or
incomplete.42 Lessor may reserve right to refuse sublease,
mortgageA retail shop lease may contain a provision which allows the
lessor to refuse in the lessor’s absolute discretion:(a) consent to the grant of a sublease, licence or concession in
respect of the whole or any part of the shop, or
(b) consent to the lessee parting with possession of the whole or any
part of the shop, or
(c) consent to the lessee mortgaging or otherwise charging or
encumbering the lessee’s estate or interest in the
43 Application of Conveyancing Act 1919Section 133B (Covenants against assigning) of the Conveyancing Act 1919 does not apply
to a retail shop lease to the extent that the section is inconsistent with
this Act (or any conditions implied in a lease by this
Act).44 Notice to lessee of lessor’s intentions at end of
lease(1) Not less than 6 months and not more than 12 months before the
expiry of a lease, the lessor must by written notification to the lessee
either:(a) offer the lessee a renewal or extension of the lease on terms
specified in the notification (including terms as to rent),
(b) inform the lessee that the lessor does not propose to offer the
lessee a renewal or extension of the lease.
Note. A notice under paragraph (b) may include other information as to
the lessor’s intentions (for example, that the lessor intends to allow
the lessee to remain in possession of the shop as a periodic tenant under any
provisions of the lease as to holding over, or as a tenant at will). Because
such a statement is only a statement of intention, a lessee should be aware
that it may not of itself bind the lessor.(2) An offer made for the purposes of subsection (1) (a) is not
capable of revocation for 1 month after it is made.Note. This allows the lessee 1 month to decide whether to accept the
offer. The lessor may agree to hold the offer open for longer than 1 month.
The parties may also negotiate a new lease.(3) If the lessor fails to give a notification to the lessee as
required by this section, the term of the lease is extended until the end of 6
months after the lessor gives the notification required by this section, but
only if the lessee requests that extension by notice in writing to the lessor
given before the lease would otherwise have
expired.(4) During any extension of the lease under subsection (3), the lessee
may terminate the lease by giving not less than 1 month’s notice of
termination in writing to the lessor.(5) This section does not apply to a lease containing an option to
renew or extend the lease or that is the subject of an agreement for the
renewal or extension of the lease.(6) If a retail shop lease is for a term of 12 months or less, the
periods of 12 months and 6 months in this section are shortened to 6 months
and 3 months respectively.45 Key-money for renewal or extension prohibited(1) A person must not, as lessor or on behalf of the lessor, seek or
accept the payment of key-money in connection with the renewal or extension of
a retail shop lease and any provision of a retail shop lease is void to the
extent that it requires or has the effect of requiring the payment of
key-money in connection with the renewal or extension of the
lease.(2) If a person contravenes this section:(a) the person is guilty of an offence and liable to a penalty not
respect of any legal or other expenses incurred in connection with the renewal
or extension of the lease, or
the renewed or extended lease by requiring the provision of a bond or security
deposit or a guarantee from the lessee or any other person,
(d) from seeking and accepting payment for the grant of a franchise in
connection with the renewal or extension of the
Part 6 Miscellaneous46 Trading hoursA provision in a retail shop lease is void to the extent that it
would operate to require the lessee to trade at a time when trading would be
unlawful.47 Security deposits(1) A retail shop lease is taken to include provision to the following
effect:(a) Money paid by the lessee to the lessor as security for the
performance of the lessee’s obligations under the lease must be held by
the lessor on behalf of the lessee in an account bearing
(b) The lessor must account to the lessee for interest earned on such
a deposit but the lessor is entitled to retain any such interest and deal with
it as money paid by the lessee to the lessor to form part of the security
deposit concerned.
(c) The lessor is not entitled to unreasonably refuse to accept a
guarantee from a bank, building society or credit union in satisfaction of any
requirement to provide security in the form of a deposit, bond or third party
guarantee for the performance of the lessee’s obligations under the
(2) This section does not prevent the lessor appropriating security
moneys in accordance with any lawful entitlement to do
so.48 Independent legal advice(1) The lessee or a prospective lessee under a retail shop lease must
not be compelled to use the services of a lawyer or licensed conveyancer
nominated by the lessor.(2) If the lessee or a prospective lessee is compelled to use the
services of a lawyer or licensed conveyancer in contravention of this section,
the lessor is liable to pay to the lessee the amount of any fees paid by the
lessee to that lawyer or licensed conveyancer for those
services.(3) If a prospective lessee is compelled to use the services of a
lawyer or licensed conveyancer in contravention of this section for the
purpose of the provision of a certificate referred to in section 16 (Minimum 5
year term), any certificate so provided is invalid for the purposes of section
16 if the lessee establishes that even though the certificate was given he or
she did not understand the effect of section 16 (1) and (2) or did not
understand that the giving of the certificate would result in section 16 not
applying.Part 7 Additional requirements for retail shopping
centres49 Part applies only to retail shopping centresThis Part applies only to retail shop leases of shops in retail
shopping centres and (in respect of those leases) applies in addition to the
other provisions of this Act.50 Confidentiality of turnover informationIf a retail shop lease requires the lessee to provide information
to the lessor concerning the turnover of the business of the lessee, the
lessor must not divulge or communicate to any person any information so
provided by the lessee, but this does not prevent the lessor communicating or
divulging any such information:(a) with the consent of the lessee, or
(b) in a document giving aggregate turnover information about a retail
shopping centre in a manner that does not disclose information relating to the
turnover of an individual lessee’s business, or
(c) to a court or arbitrator or for the purposes of any mediation or
valuation for the purposes of this Act or the lease, or
(d) in compliance with a requirement made by or under an Act,
(e) to the lessor’s professional advisers (such as legal or
financial advisers), or to the proper officer of any financial institution for
the purpose in good faith of enabling the lessor to obtain financial
(f) in good faith to a prospective purchaser of the retail shop or the
building of which it forms part.
units.51 Statistical information to be made available to
lesseeIf a retail shop lease requires the lessee to pay any amount in
respect of outgoings on account of expenditure incurred in obtaining
statistical information (such as “traffic counts”), the lease is
taken to include provision that the lessor must make any information so
obtained by the lessor available to the lessee.52 Advertising and promotion requirementsA provision in a retail shop lease is void to the extent that it
requires the lessee to undertake any advertising or promotion of the
lessee’s business. This section does not apply to a provision in a lease
that requires any payment to the lessor for advertising and promotion costs
incurred or to be incurred by the lessor.Note. This does not prevent a lessee deciding to make an additional
contribution towards advertising and promotion. It is good leasing practice
for a lessor to require all lessees in the shopping centre to contribute
towards advertising and promotion costs for the centre.53 Marketing plan for advertising and promotionIf a retail shop lease requires the lessee to pay any amount to
the lessor in respect of advertising and promotion costs, the lease is taken
to include provision to the following effect:(a) The lessor must, at least 1 month before the start of each
accounting period of the lessor, make available to the lessee a marketing plan
that gives details of the lessor’s proposed expenditure on advertising
and promotion during that accounting period.
(b) If such a payment relates to an opening promotion, the lessor
must, at least 1 month before that opening promotion, make available to the
lessee details of the proposed expenditure on that
to be made available to lesseesA retail shop lease is taken to include provision to the following
effect:(a) The lessor must make a written statement available for examination
by a lessee detailing all expenditure by the lessor on account of advertising
and promotion costs to which the lessee is required to contribute under the
(b) The lessor must make the statement available at least twice in
each of the lessor’s accounting periods during the term of the lease
(once in relation to expenditure during the first 6 months of each such
accounting period and once in relation to expenditure during the second 6
months of each such accounting period).
(c) The statement must be made available within 1 month after the end
of the 6 month period to which it relates.
promotion expenditureA retail shop lease is taken to include provision to the following
effect:(a) The lessor must give the lessee a written statement (an advertising statement)
lessor during the term of the lease on account of advertising or promotion
costs to which the lessee is required to contribute under the
(b) The advertising statement is to be prepared in accordance with
(c) The advertising statement is to be given to the lessee within 3
(d) The advertising statement is to be accompanied by a report (an
(e) The auditor’s report is to include a statement by the
auditor as to whether or not the advertising statement correctly states the
advertising or promotion costs to which the lessee is required to
carried forwardA retail shop lease is taken to include provision that any amount
contributed by a lessee in the shopping centre under a retail shop lease in
respect of advertising or promotion costs of the lessor and which is not spent
for the purpose for which it was contributed must be carried forward by the
lessor, to be applied towards future expenditure on advertising or promotion
of the centre.57 (Repealed)58 Termination for inadequate sales prohibitedA retail shop lease must not contain a provision that permits or
otherwise provides for the termination of the lease on the ground that the
lessee or the business of the lessee has failed to achieve specified sales or
turnover performance.59 Geographical restrictions(1) A lease must not contain a provision which has the effect of
preventing or restricting the lessee from carrying on business outside the
retail shopping centre, either during the term of or after the expiry of the
lease.(2) This section does not operate to prevent a lease or other
agreement from containing a provision that prevents the use of the name of the
retail shopping centre in connection with a business carried on outside the
shopping centre.60 Tenants associationA lease must not contain a provision which has the effect of
preventing or restricting the lessee from joining, forming or taking part in
any activities of any tenants association or other similar
body.Note. This section does not prevent a lessor from encouraging lessees to
become involved in marketing advisory panels.61 Trading hours(1) A lease of a retail shop is taken to include provision to the
effect that a lessor is not entitled to change the core trading hours of the
retail shopping centre of which the shop forms part except with the approval
in writing of the lessees of a majority of the retail shops in the shopping
centre (whether or not those retail shops are retail shops to which this Act
applies). The initial fixing of trading hours in a new shopping centre is not
a change to core trading hours and is not affected by this
subsection.(2) Subsection (1) does not operate to permit a lessor to ignore the
requirements of any other agreement, arrangement or understanding that
prevents or restricts a change to core trading hours by the lessor in a retail
shopping centre.Note. An example of how subsection (2) operates is where another
agreement requires a 75% majority of lessees to be in favour of a change to
core trading hours before the lessor can make the change. Subsection (2)
requires that the other agreement be complied with also, so that a 75%
majority must be obtained and not merely the 50% majority required by
subsection (1).(3) This section does not prevent a lease providing for the action
that may be taken by a lessor in the event of a lessee not trading in
accordance with core trading hours, including provisions:(a) enabling the lessor, as a condition of granting consent to a
lessee trading outside core trading hours, to require the lessee to pay, or
pay a contribution towards, the costs of opening the retail shopping centre
during those extended trading hours, or
(b) requiring a lessee who trades outside core trading hours to make
specified payments or additional payments in respect of advertising and
promotional costs for the shopping centre.
(4) The core
trading hours of a retail shopping centre are the times when retail
shops in the shopping centre are required to be open for business, whether the
requirement is imposed by or under a lease or by or under some other
agreement, arrangement or understanding between lessors and the
lessees.62 Special provision for strata shopping centresIf a retail shop lease applies in respect of a shop that comprises
the whole or part of a strata lot under the Strata Schemes (Freehold Development) Act
(Leasehold Development) Act 1986, sections 50–56 and 61
apply in respect of the lease as if:(a) references in those sections to a retail shop lease (or a
provision of the lease) included a reference to the by-laws (or a provision of
the by-laws) for the strata scheme concerned, and
(b) references in those sections to the lessor included reference to
the body corporate under the strata scheme concerned and any centre manager
appointed, employed or engaged by the body corporate to have management
functions in respect of the centre.
Note. Considering section 54 as an example of the operation of section
62:The provisions of section 54 are taken to form part of the by-laws
for the retail shopping centre. The section will then operate to impose
requirements on the lessor, the body corporate and the centre manager. If
advertising and promotion costs are charged to a lessee under the by-laws and
not the lease, the lessor will have no obligations under section 54 because
those amounts are not charged under the lease. The body corporate and the
centre manager on the other hand will have the obligations that the lessor
would otherwise have had.Part 7A Unconscionable conduct62A Application of Part(1) This Part extends to apply to a retail shop lease that was entered
into before the commencement of section 6 or under an option granted or
agreement made before the commencement of section 6, but only if this Act
would have applied to the lease if it had been entered into after the
commencement of section 6.(2) This Part does not apply to conduct that occurred before the
commencement of this section.62B Unconscionable conduct in retail shop lease
transactions(1) A lessor must not, in connection with a retail shop lease, engage
in conduct that is, in all the circumstances,
unconscionable.(2) A lessee must not, in connection with a retail shop lease, engage
unconscionable.(3) Without in any way limiting the matters to which the Tribunal may
have regard for the purpose of determining whether a lessor has contravened
subsection (1) in connection with a retail shop lease, the Tribunal may have
regard to:(a) the relative strengths of the bargaining positions of the lessor
and the lessee, and
(b) whether, as a result of conduct engaged in by the lessor, the
lessee was required to comply with conditions that were not reasonably
necessary for the protection of the legitimate interests of the lessor,
(c) whether the lessee was able to understand any documents relating
to the lease, and
(d) whether any undue influence or pressure was exerted on, or any
unfair tactics were used against, the lessee or a person acting on behalf of
the lessee by the lessor or a person acting on behalf of the lessor in
relation to the lease, and
(e) the amount for which, and the circumstances under which, the
lessee could have acquired an identical or equivalent lease from a person
other than the lessor, and
(f) the extent to which the lessor’s conduct towards the lessee
was consistent with the lessor’s conduct in similar transactions between
the lessor and other like lessees, and
(g) the requirements of any applicable industry code,
(h) the requirements of any other industry code, if the lessee acted
on the reasonable belief that the lessor would comply with that code,
(i) the extent to which the lessor unreasonably failed to disclose to
the lessee:(i) any intended conduct of the lessor that might affect the interests
of the lessee, and
(ii) any risks to the lessee arising from the lessor’s intended
conduct (being risks that the lessor should have foreseen would not be
apparent to the lessee), and
(j) the extent to which the lessor was willing to negotiate the terms
and conditions of any lease with the lessee, and
(k) the extent to which the lessor and the lessee acted in good
(4) Without in any way limiting the matters to which the Tribunal may
have regard for the purpose of determining whether a lessee has contravened
subsection (2) in connection with a retail shop lease, the Tribunal may have
regard to:(a) the relative strengths of the bargaining positions of the lessee
and the lessor, and
(b) whether, as a result of conduct engaged in by the lessee, the
lessor was required to comply with conditions that were not reasonably
necessary for the protection of the legitimate interests of the lessee,
(c) whether the lessor was able to understand any documents relating
unfair tactics were used against, the lessor or a person acting on behalf of
the lessor by the lessee or a person acting on behalf of the lessee in
lessor could have granted an identical or equivalent lease to a person other
than the lessee, and
(f) the extent to which the lessee’s conduct towards the lessor
was consistent with the lessee’s conduct in similar transactions between
the lessee and other like lessors, and
(h) the requirements of any other industry code, if the lessor acted
on the reasonable belief that the lessee would comply with that code,
(i) the extent to which the lessee unreasonably failed to disclose to
the lessor:(i) any intended conduct of the lessee that might affect the interests
of the lessor, and
(ii) any risks to the lessor arising from the lessee’s intended
conduct (being risks that the lessee should have foreseen would not be
apparent to the lessor), and
(j) the extent to which the lessee was willing to negotiate the terms
and conditions of any lease with the lessor, and
(k) the extent to which the lessee and the lessor acted in good
(5) A person is not to be taken for the purposes of this section to
engage in unconscionable conduct in connection with a retail shop lease by
reason only that the first-mentioned person institutes legal proceedings in
relation to that lease or refers to arbitration a dispute or claim in relation
to that lease.(6) A person is not to be taken for the purposes of this section to
reason only that the first-mentioned person fails to renew the lease or issue
a new lease.(7) For the purpose of determining whether a lessor has contravened
subsection (1) or whether a lessee has contravened subsection (2):(a) the Tribunal must not have regard to any circumstances that were
not reasonably foreseeable at the time of the alleged contravention,
(b) the Tribunal may have regard to circumstances existing before the
commencement of this section but not to conduct engaged in before that
(8) A lessor or lessee, or former lessor or lessee, who suffers loss
or damage by reason of unconscionable conduct of another person that is in
contravention of this section may recover the amount of the loss or damage by
lodging a claim against the other person under section
71A.(9) If the matter of such loss or damage arises in connection with a
matter the subject of proceedings in the Tribunal, the Tribunal may proceed to
decide it, and in so doing may award such sum as it thinks
fit.Part 8 Dispute resolutionDivision 1 Preliminary63 Interpretation(1) In this Part:court
means a court, tribunal or other body or person authorised by law, or by
consent or agreement of parties, to decide or resolve any issue that is in
dispute between parties, and includes an arbitrator.party or
to a retail shop lease or former retail shop lease includes a person who is a
guarantor or covenantor under a lease or former lease.retail tenancy
dispute means any dispute concerning the liabilities or obligations
(including any obligation to pay money) of a party or former party to a retail
shop lease or former lease, being liabilities or obligations which arose under
the lease or former lease or which arose in connection with the use or
occupation of the retail shop to which the lease or former lease
relates.Tribunal means the
Administrative Decisions Tribunal of New South Wales established by the
1997.(2) This Part extends to apply to:(a) a retail shop lease that was entered into before the commencement
of section 6 or under an option granted or agreement made before the
commencement of section 6, and
(b) a dispute that arose before the commencement of section 6 or which
concerns a liability or obligation that arose before the commencement of
Division 2 Mediation64 The Registrar(1) The Minister is to appoint the holder of a statutory office or a
public servant as the Registrar of Retail Tenancy Disputes for the purposes of
this Act.(2) The Registrar may, for the purposes of this Act and with the
approval of the Minister, arrange for the use of the services of any staff or
facilities of a government department, administrative office or a public or
local authority.(3) The Registrar may delegate to any public servant the exercise of
any function of the Registrar under this Act, except this power of
delegation.65 Functions of Registrar(1) The Registrar has the following functions:(a) to make arrangements to facilitate the resolution by mediation of
retail tenancy disputes (whether or not a dispute has been formally referred
to the Registrar under this Act),
(a1) to make arrangements to facilitate the resolution by mediation of
disputes or applications under section 19 (3), 19A (3), 31 (3) or 31A (3) or
the subject, or possible subject, of a claim under section
(b) to report to the Minister on the operation of this
(c) to take proceedings for an offence against this Act or to
authorise persons to take proceedings for offences against this
(d) such other functions as may be conferred or imposed on the
Registrar by or under this or any other Act.
(2) The Registrar may, at any stage of proceedings brought before a
court concerning a retail tenancy dispute intervene in the proceedings. If the
Registrar intervenes in proceedings, the Registrar becomes a party to the
proceedings and has all the rights (including rights of appeal) of a party to
the proceedings.(3) In making arrangements for the resolution by mediation of disputes
or other matters, the Registrar is to have regard to the need for mediation of
those disputes or other matters to be conducted by persons who are experienced
in the field of retail shop leases.(4) In the exercise of his or her functions under this Act, the
Registrar is not subject to the control or direction of the
Minister.66 Mediation of disputes and other matters(1) Any or all of the parties or former parties to a retail shop lease
may refer a retail tenancy dispute or other dispute or matter referred to in
section 65 (1) (a1) to the Registrar for mediation of the dispute. The
Registrar is entitled to charge an application fee (not exceeding any maximum
fee prescribed by the regulations) for the referral of a retail tenancy
dispute or other dispute or matter referred to in section 65 (1) (a1) to the
Registrar.Note. Before applying for formal mediation of a dispute parties are
encouraged to approach the Registrar for preliminary assistance of the kind
referred to in section 67. There is no charge for this.(2) The costs of and associated with formal mediation before a
mediator of a retail tenancy dispute or other dispute or matter under
arrangements made by the Registrar are to be paid by the parties to the
mediation in such proportions as they may agree among themselves or, failing
agreement, in equal shares.(3) A mediator has, in the exercise of functions performed as a
mediator under this Act, the same protection and immunities as a Judge of the
Supreme Court.67 The nature of mediation(1) In this Division:mediation is not limited
to formal mediation procedures and includes the following:(a) preliminary assistance in dispute resolution, such as the giving
of advice designed to ensure that the parties are fully aware of their rights
and obligations and that there is full and open communication between the
parties concerning the dispute,
(b) other appropriate forms of alternative dispute
(2) A reference in this Division to a mediator includes a
reference to a person who provides the assistance or alternative dispute
resolution referred to in subsection (1).Note. The first step in any dispute is to ensure that the parties have
read their lease and have spoken to one another about their concerns in an
effort to resolve the dispute.68 Disputes and other matters must be submitted to mediation
before proceedings can be taken(1) A retail tenancy dispute or other dispute or matter referred to in
section 65 (1) (a1) may not be the subject of proceedings before any court
unless and until the Registrar has certified in writing that mediation under
this Part has failed to resolve the dispute or matter or the court is
otherwise satisfied that mediation under this Part is unlikely to resolve the
dispute or matter.(2) The Registrar must certify that mediation under this Part has
failed to resolve a retail tenancy dispute or other dispute or matter referred
to in section 65 (1) (a1) if the Registrar is satisfied that any one or more
of the parties to the dispute or matter has refused to take part in or has
withdrawn from mediation of the dispute or matter.(3) This section does not apply to proceedings before a court for an
order in the nature of an injunction.(4) This section does not operate to affect the validity of any
decision made by a court.69 Statements made during mediation not admissibleAny statement or admission made in the course of the mediation of
a retail tenancy dispute or other dispute or matter referred to in section 65
(1) (a1) pursuant to arrangements made by the Registrar under this Part is not
admissible at a hearing of a claim under Division 3 or in any other legal
proceeding.Division 3 Determination of claims by Administrative
Decisions Tribunal70 DefinitionsIn this Division:retail
tenancy claim means any of the following:(a) a claim in connection with a liability or obligation with which a
retail tenancy dispute is concerned, being:(i) a claim for the payment of a specified sum of
(ii) a claim for relief from payment of a specified sum of
(iii) a claim for the doing of specified work or the provision of
specified services,
(iv) a claim for the surrender of possession of specified
(v) a claim for assignment of rights under a lease or for a
declaration that a lessor is not entitled to withhold consent to an assignment
of the rights of a lessee,
(vi) a claim for relief against forfeiture,
(vii) a claim regarding the rectification of the
(viii) a claim regarding the invalidity of a lease for inconsistency with
(ix) a claim for a declaration of the rights, obligations and
liabilities of the parties under a lease,
(x) without limiting the generality of subparagraph (i), a claim for
compensation under section 10,
(b) an application under section 19 (3) or 31 (3) by a specialist
retail valuer,
(c) a claim against a specialist retail valuer under section 19A (3)
or 31A (3) for compensation for loss or damage suffered as a consequence of
the use or communication or divulging of
claim means a claim for relief under section
62B.71 Lodging of retail tenancy claims with Tribunal(1) A party or former party to a retail shop lease or former retail
shop lease may lodge a retail tenancy claim in respect of the lease with the
Tribunal for determination of the claim.(2) A claim may not be lodged more than 3 years after the liability or
obligation that is the subject of the claim arose.(3) (Repealed)Note. Under section 37 of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act
1997, the effect of enabling applications to be made to the
Tribunal is to confer jurisdiction on it. By virtue of section 142 of that
Act, an application includes a mechanism by which an Act provides for a matter
to be brought to the attention of the Tribunal for an original
decision.71A Lodging of unconscionable conduct claims with
Tribunal(1) A lessor or lessee, or former lessor or lessee, under a retail
shop lease or former retail shop lease may lodge an unconscionable conduct
claim with the Tribunal for determination of the
claim.(2) A claim may not be lodged more than 3 years after the alleged
unconscionable conduct occurred.(3) In this section:party
party to a retail shop lease or former retail shop lease includes a
person who is a guarantor or covenantor under a lease or former
lease.72 Powers of Tribunal relating to retail tenancy
claims(1) In proceedings for a retail tenancy claim lodged with the Tribunal
under this Part, the Tribunal is empowered to make any one or more of the
following orders that it considers appropriate:(a) an order that a party to the proceedings pay money to a person
specified in the order, whether by way of debt, damages or restitution, or
refund any money paid by a specified person,
(b) an order that a specified amount of money is not due or owing by a
(c) an order that a party to the proceedings:(i) do any specified work or perform any specified service or any
obligation arising under this Act or the terms of a lease,
(ii) surrender possession of specified premises to another person,
(iii) assign his or her or its rights under a lease to a specified
(iv) do or perform, or refrain from doing or performing, any specified
act, matter or thing,
(d) an order granting a party to the proceedings relief against
(e) an order, by consent of the parties, requiring the parties to the
proceedings to rectify a lease,
(f) an order:(i) declaring any provision made by a lease to be void for being
inconsistent with this Act or the regulations, or
(ii) declaring that a lessor is not entitled to withhold consent to an
assignment of the rights of a lessee, or
(iii) declaring the rights and liabilities of the parties under law,
whether any consequential relief is or could be claimed or
(g) such other order, in the nature of an interlocutory order of a
kind referred to in paragraphs (a)–(f), as the Tribunal considers proper
to be made in order to resolve or assist resolution of the dispute between the
(2) The Tribunal may make such ancillary orders as it considers
necessary for the purpose of enabling an order under this section to have full
effect.(3) The Tribunal may impose such conditions as it considers
appropriate when making an order under this
section.(4) The Tribunal may make an interim order under this section pending
final determination of a claim, if it appears to the Tribunal desirable to do
so.72AA Powers of Tribunal relating to unconscionable conduct
claims(1) In proceedings for an unconscionable conduct claim lodged with the
Tribunal under this Part, the Tribunal is empowered to make any one or more of
the following orders that it considers appropriate:(a) an order that a party to the proceedings pay money to a person
so.72A Power of Tribunal to award interest(1) When the Tribunal orders on a retail tenancy claim or an
unconscionable conduct claim that a person pay money to another person, the
Tribunal may order that there is to be included, in the amount ordered to be
paid, interest at a specified rate on the whole or any part of that amount for
the whole or any part of the period between when the cause of action arose and
when the order takes effect.(2) If the whole or part of an amount claimed under a retail tenancy
claim or an unconscionable conduct claim is paid during proceedings in the
Tribunal on the claim, prior to or without an order for payment being made in
respect of the claim, the Tribunal may order that interest be paid at a
specified rate on the whole or any part of the money paid for the whole or any
part of the period between when the cause of action arose and the date of the
payment.(3) The rate of interest specified by the Tribunal under this section
must not exceed the rate at which interest is payable on a judgment debt of
the District Court.(4) This section does not:(a) authorise the giving of interest on interest,
(b) apply in relation to any debt on which interest is payable as of
right whether by virtue of any agreement or otherwise, or
(5) On a claim for the payment of money, the Tribunal may not order
the payment of interest under subsection (1) in respect of the period after
the date on which an appropriate settlement sum (or the first appropriate
settlement sum) has been offered unless the special circumstances of the case
warrant the making of such an order.(6) For the purposes of subsection (5), appropriate
settlement sum is a sum offered by a party in settlement of a claim
for the payment of money where the amount ordered to be paid (including
interest accrued up to and including the date of the offer) does not exceed
the sum offered by more than 10 per cent. Subsection (5) does not prevent an
award of interest for the period before the settlement offer is
made.73 Monetary limit on Tribunal’s jurisdictionThe Tribunal has no jurisdiction to make an order or orders in
respect of a particular retail tenancy claim or an unconscionable conduct
claim if the total of:(a) the amount or amounts (if any) of money to be paid,
(b) the amount or amounts (if any) of money to be declared not to be
due or owing, and
(c) the value or values (if any) of the work to be done or the
under or by virtue of the order or orders would exceed $300,000 or such
other amount as may be prescribed by the regulations.74 Tribunal must attempt to conciliate(1) The Tribunal must not make an order in respect of a retail tenancy
claim or an unconscionable conduct claim that is before it unless it has
brought, or used its best endeavours to bring, the parties to the claim to a
settlement acceptable to all of them.(2) For that purpose, the Tribunal may adjourn the hearing of a claim
to enable the dispute or matter concerned to be referred to the Registrar
under Division 2 for mediation of the dispute or
matter.(3) If such a settlement is reached, the Tribunal must make an order
under this Division that gives effect to the settlement to the extent
permitted by this Division.(4) Part 4 of Chapter 6 of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act
1997 does not apply to a retail tenancy claim or an
unconscionable conduct claim that may be made to the Tribunal under this
Act.75 Removal of court proceedings to the Tribunal(1) If civil proceedings pending in a court involve a retail tenancy
dispute, the court must on the application of any party to the proceedings
transfer the proceedings (or so much of the proceedings as involve such a
dispute) to the Tribunal to be dealt with as a claim under this Division, but
only if the court is satisfied that:(a) the dispute is such as may effectively be dealt with as a claim
under this Division and that it is appropriate that the dispute be dealt with
(b) the interests of justice do not require that the matter be dealt
(2) In determining whether or not it is appropriate that a matter be
dealt with by the Tribunal, a court is to have regard to the general principle
that retail tenancy disputes should be dealt with by the Tribunal rather than
by a court.(3) Proceedings are taken to involve a retail tenancy dispute if any
issue in dispute in the proceedings involves a liability or obligation with
which a retail tenancy dispute is concerned.(4) This section does not prevent a court from granting urgent relief
of an interlocutory nature where it is in the interests of justice to do
so.(5) This section does not apply to proceedings by way of an
appeal.(6) A court may make such ancillary orders as it considers necessary
for the purpose of enabling an order under this section for the transfer of
proceedings to the Tribunal to have full effect.76 Jurisdictional overlap(1) If a retail tenancy claim or an unconscionable conduct claim has
been lodged with the Tribunal under this Part and at the time it was lodged no
issue arising under the claim was the subject of a dispute in civil
proceedings pending before a court, a court has no jurisdiction to hear or
determine such an issue in civil proceedings, unless:(a) the claim lodged with the Tribunal, or the part of that claim to
which the issue relates, is withdrawn or is dismissed for want of
(b) a court of record has, on a judicial review, quashed or declared
invalid an order, determination or ruling of the Tribunal made in respect of
the claim on the ground that the Tribunal had no jurisdiction to hear and
(2) If a retail tenancy claim or an unconscionable conduct claim has
been lodged with the Tribunal under this Part and at the time it was lodged an
proceedings pending before a court, the Tribunal, on becoming aware of those
proceedings, ceases to have jurisdiction to hear or determine the issue,
unless:(a) those proceedings, or the part of the proceedings relating to the
issue, are or is transferred to the Tribunal by the court concerned,
(b) those proceedings, or the part of the proceedings relating to the
issue, are or is withdrawn or dismissed by the court, or by another court on
appeal in those proceedings, for want of jurisdiction or without deciding the
issue on its merits, or
(c) a court of record has, on a judicial review, quashed or declared
invalid those proceedings or that part of those proceedings or any order,
judgment or decision made in those proceedings in relation to the issue, on
the ground that the first-mentioned court had no jurisdiction to hear and
(3) If a retail shop lease provides that a dispute be submitted to
arbitration, it is competent for a retail tenancy claim or an unconscionable
conduct claim involving that dispute to be lodged with the Tribunal under this
Part unless all steps necessary to secure arbitration of the dispute have been
taken.(4) If a retail tenancy claim or an unconscionable conduct claim has
been lodged with the Tribunal, any provision of a retail shop lease that
provides for the submission of a dispute with which the claim is concerned to
arbitration is of no effect in relation to the
dispute.76A Removal of proceedings to Supreme Court(1) A party to proceedings before the Tribunal for an unconscionable
conduct claim may apply to the Tribunal to have the proceedings transferred to
the Supreme Court.(2) The Tribunal must transfer the proceedings if the Tribunal is
satisfied that:(a) the nature of the claim is such that it may be more effectively
and appropriately dealt with by the Supreme Court, and
(b) the interests of justice do not require the matter to be continued
to be dealt with by the Tribunal.
(3) The Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear and determine
proceedings for an unconscionable conduct claim transferred to it under this
section and may make any orders and do anything that the Tribunal may do in
determining an unconscionable conduct claim.(4) The Supreme Court may exercise all the functions that are
conferred or imposed by or under this or any other Act on the Tribunal to
determine the unconscionable conduct claim.77 Appeals(1) A party to any proceedings (other than a party to proceedings for
an unconscionable conduct claim) in which the Tribunal makes an order or other
decision under this Act may appeal to an Appeal Panel of the Tribunal under
Decisions Tribunal Act 1997.(2) A party to any proceedings for an unconscionable conduct claim may
appeal to the Supreme Court, on a question of law, against any decision of the
Tribunal in those proceedings.(3) Sections 120 and 121 of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act
1997 apply to an appeal to the Supreme Court under subsection
(2) in the same way as they apply to an appeal to the Supreme Court, on a
question of law, against a decision of the Appeal
Panel.(4) A party to any proceedings for an unconscionable conduct claim may
appeal to the Supreme Court, with the leave of the Supreme Court, for a review
of the merits of a decision by the Tribunal in those
proceedings.(5) Sections 115 and 116 of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act
(4) in the same way as they apply to appeals to the Appeal Panel under Part 1
of Chapter 7 of the Administrative Decisions
Tribunal Act 1997 that extend to a review of the merits of an
appealable decision.(6) If proceedings relate partly to a retail tenancy claim and partly
to an unconscionable conduct claim, subsections (2)–(5) apply to those
proceedings.(7) An appeal to the Supreme Court by a person under this section must
be made:(a) within such time and in such manner as is prescribed by rules of
77A Tribunal may award costsThe Tribunal may award costs under section 88 of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act
made under this Part.77B AssessorsPart 5 of Chapter 2 of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act
1997, and section 74 of that Act, insofar as it relates to
assessors, do not apply to a claim that may be made to the Tribunal under this
Act.77C Right of appearance(1) In any proceedings before the Tribunal, the parties to the
proceedings may appear in person or may be represented by a lawyer or other
agent.(2) This section applies despite the provisions of section 71 of the
1997.Part 9 Ancillary interpretation provisions78 Interpretation based on industry practiceIn the interpretation of this Act, a court (as defined for the
purposes of Part 8) is to have regard to accepted practices and
interpretations within the industry concerning the leasing of retail
shops.78A Meaning of “the Act” in leasesA retail shop lease is taken to include provision to the effect
that a reference in the lease to the
Act is a reference to the Retail
Leases Act 1994, except in so far as the context or
subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires.79 Leases partly for retail shops and partly for other
premisesIf a retail shop lease applies to a retail shop as well as to
other separate or adjoining premises that are not a retail shop, this Act
applies to the lease only to the extent that the lease is a lease of a retail
shop.80 Meaning of “renewal” of leaseA reference in this Act to the renewal of a retail shop lease
(the current lease) is
a reference to the lessor and the lessee under the current lease entering into
a new retail shop lease for the retail shop to which the current lease relates
(whether or not on the same terms as the current
lease).Part 9A Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport80A Application(1) This Part applies only in respect of premises at a passenger
terminal at Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport as described in the Airports Regulations 1997
under the Airports Act 1996 of the
Commonwealth.(2) In this Part:Airport
means Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport as described in the Airports Regulations 1997
Commonwealth.Airport passenger
terminal means a passenger terminal at the Airport.airside
premises means premises wholly within the part of the international
passenger terminal of the Airport to which access is limited to the following
persons:(a) a person who holds a valid security identification card or a valid
visitor identification card (within the meaning of Division 7 of Part 7 of the
1947 of the Commonwealth),
(b) a person under the supervision of a person who holds such a valid
security identification card or valid visitor identification
(c) a person who is authorised by law to have access to restricted
areas at the Airport,
(d) a person who holds a boarding pass.
80B Non-retail premises exempted(1) Premises at an Airport passenger terminal used wholly or
predominantly for the carrying on of a business are exempt from the operation
of this Act except for premises used wholly or predominantly for the carrying
on of any of the following businesses:(a) a business specified in Schedule 1,
(b) a business that is a bank, a provider of financial services or a
medical centre in each case located within a retail precinct (being an area of
an Airport passenger terminal that has been designated by the operator of the
terminal for use primarily for retail purposes).
(2) Premises at an Airport passenger terminal that are used wholly or
predominantly for, or that are a site for, business centres and lounges,
booths and counters for purposes associated with duty free docket plucking,
commercial offices, check-in counters, airline lounges, currency exchange
outlets, tax refund booths, information booths, free internet facilities,
storage facilities including duty free storage, government offices (such as
for customs and quarantine or police), advertising, telephone booths, luggage
lockers, baggage trolley operations, airline sales desks, mobile cart
operations, electronic accommodation booking units, vending units, creches and
children’s play areas are, for the purposes of subsection (1), taken to
be premises used wholly or predominantly for the carrying on of a
business.80C Leases in master concessions over 1,000 square metres
exempted(1) This Act does not apply to a lease of premises at an Airport
passenger terminal if:(a) the premises form part of a master concession that has an
aggregate lettable area of 1,000 square metres or more,
(b) the lease is a head lease under the master concession,
(c) the premises are used wholly or predominantly for carrying on the
business of the supply of food and beverages or the supply of products that
are duty free or tax free.
(2) Premises at an Airport passenger terminal that are all leased to
the same lessee comprise a master concession and
the leases to that lessee are the head leases under that
master concession.(3) The aggregate lettable
area of a master concession is the aggregate of the lettable areas
of the premises that comprise the master
concession.80D Further entitlement to withhold consent to
assignmentFor the purposes of section 34, a lessor of premises at an Airport
passenger terminal is taken not to have engaged in any of the activities
described in section 34 (1) (a)–(f) because of anything done or omitted
to be done by the lessor wholly or predominantly for any one or more of the
following purposes:(a) airport safety,
(b) airline safety,
(c) airport security,
(d) airline security,
80E Exemption from section 39For the purposes of section 39, the lessor under a retail shop
lease of airside premises is entitled to withhold consent to the assignment of
the lease if the proposed assignee of the lease has inferior skills for
competing in the international airport retail market.80F Exemption from section 50Section 50 does not apply in respect of a lease of airside
premises.Part 10 General81 Extension of term—effect on Real Property Act 1900(1) The extension of the term of a retail shop lease by operation of a
provision of this Act is of no effect for the purposes of the Real Property Act 1900 unless and
until a lease is registered under that Act which gives effect to the extension
of term, or the variation of a lease that is already registered under that Act
is registered to give effect to the extension of
term.(2) The Registrar-General is not bound to inquire into or to recognise
any increase or alleged increase in the term of a retail shop lease by
operation of a provision of this Act.(3) The lessor under a retail shop lease the term of which is extended
by operation of a provision of this Act is bound, at the request of the
lessee:(a) to execute a lease in the approved form for the purposes of the
Real Property Act 1900 to
enable registration of the lease under that Act (with its term so extended) if
the lease is not already so registered, and
(b) to enter into such variation of the lease as may be necessary to
give effect to the extension of term if the lease is already registered under
that Act, and to obtain all necessary consents, for the purposes of the
registration under that Act of the variation of
82 Exemptions from ActThe regulations may exempt from the operation of this Act or any
specified provision of this Act any specified person, retail lease or retail
shop or any specified class of persons, retail leases or retail shops, either
unconditionally or subject to conditions.83 Act binds CrownThis Act binds the Crown in right of New South Wales and, in so
capacities.84 Proceedings for offencesProceedings for an offence against this Act are to be dealt with
alone.84A Savings and transitional provisionsSchedule 3 has effect.85 RegulationsThe Governor may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act,
out or giving effect to this Act.86 Review of Act(1) The Minister is to review this Act to determine whether the policy
years.Schedule 1 Retail shop businesses(Section 3)Antique shopsArt galleriesArt supplies shopsArts and crafts shopsBarbecue equipment shopsBarbersBeauticiansBeauty therapistsBeauty shopsBeach wear shopsBeer, wine and spirit shops (except where goods are for consumption on
the premises)Bicycle shopsBicycle accessories shopsBiscuit bar shopsBookshopsBoot and shoe repairersBridal wear sales and hire shopsBuilding supplies shopsBusiness machines and equipment shopsButcher shopsCake shopsCamping equipment shopsCards shopsCarpet shopsCigarette shopsClock shopsCoins and coin collections shopsConfectionery shopsConvenience food shopsCookie shopsCopper fitting shopsCosmetics shopsCostumes and formal wear hire shopsCurtain shopsDelicatessen shopsDepartment storesDinnerware shopsDisposals shopsDrapery shopsDry cleanersDuty free shopsElectrical appliance shopsElectronic equipment and supplies shopsEngraversEquestrian wear shopsEquipment hire shopsFast food shopsFast-photo processorsFloor covering shopsFlorist shopsFlower shopsFruit and vegetable shopsFruit juice shopsFurniture shopsGames and hobbies shopsGeneral storesGift shopsGift-wrapping shopsGrocery shopsGreengrocer shopsHaberdashery shopsHairdressersHardware shopsHealth food shopsHearing aid shopsHot bread kitchen shopsHot water system shopsHousehold appliance shopsHousehold fixtures and fittings shopsIce cream shopsInterior decoration shopsJewellery shopsKey cutting shopsKitchenware shopsLeather goods shopsLighting shopsLinen shopsLingerie shopsLottery agenciesManchester shopsMartial arts supplies shopsMixed business shopsMotor vehicle and motor cycle accessories shops (excluding tyre shops and
batteries shops)Music shopsNewsagency shopsNick-nack shopsNut bar shopsOptometristsOrgan shopsPaint and paper shopsPastry shopsPet shopsPharmacy shopsPhotographic equipment and supplies shopsPicture frames shopsPlumbing supplies shopsPools and spas shopsPoultry shops (whether fresh or frozen poultry or both fresh and frozen
poultry)Precious stones shopsPrints and posters shopsRestaurants, cafeterias, coffee lounges and other eating placesRock shopsRubber stamp supply shopsSeafood shopsSecond-hand goods shopsShoe shopsShops selling or engaged in providing any 1 or more of the following
goods or services in relation to men and boys:accessories, caps, clothing, clothing alterations,
sunshadesShops selling or engaged in providing any 1 or more of the following
goods or services in relation to women, girls and infants:accessories, baby wear, bags, caps, clothing, clothing
alterations, sunshadesShops selling any 1 or more of the following goods:cassettes, musical instruments, prerecorded tapes,
recordsSilverware shopsSleepware shopsSmallgoods shopsSnack barsSoft drink shopsSoft furnishing shopsSouvenir shopsSporting goods shopsStamps and stamp collection shops (whether for purchase or sale or
both)Stationery shopsSupermarketsSurfboard shopsSurfing accessories shopsTakeaway food shopsTelevision, video equipment and other household appliances hire
shopsTobacconists shopsToy shopsUmbrella shopsUnderwear shopsVariety storesVideo tape and prerecorded music librariesVitamin shopsWall decorations shopsWatch shopsWriting materials shopsAnd other business as may from time to time be prescribed by the
regulations.Schedule 2 (Sections 11, 11A)Lessor and lessee disclosure
statementsPart 1 Lessor’s disclosure
statementAdvice to lessees1 Before signing agreements to a lease or leases, lessees should
ensure they fully understand the documents.2 If there is any doubt, lessees should seek independent legal
advice.Note. If there is insufficient space on this form please attach
additional sheets.Tenancy
Address of Shop/Shop NoLettable Area (sq m)Permitted Use of Shop Lease Period / /19 to / /19OptionsNo YesOption Periods / /Finishes, fixtures, fittings, equipment and services to be
provided by the lessor.Lessee has to pay for the finishes, fixtures, fittings, equipment
and services to be provided by the lessor: yes/noIf yes, to what extent:Finishes, fixtures, fittings, equipment and services to be
provided by the lessee.Hours of access to
shop outside trading hours.Date on which shop
will be available for occupation by the lessee.Lessor’s requirements as to quality and standard of fittings
in shop.Rent:Method for Calculating Rent:1. Commencement Date
3. Rent ReviewsFrequencyNature
Outgoings to
be paid by the lessee
DETAILS OF OUTGOINGSEstimate$ p.a.DETAILS OF OUTGOINGSEstimate$ p.a.Air Conditioning/ Ventilation Audit Fees Building Intelligence & Emergency
Systems Car Parking Child Minding Cleaning Electricity Energy Management Systems Fire Protection Gardening Gas & Oil Insurance Land Tax Lifts and escalators Local Government rates and charges Management Costs Pest Control Public Address/Music Repairs and Maintenance Sinking Fund for Repairs and
Maintenance Security Sewage Disposal & Sullage Signs Telephones (Public) Uniforms Water, sewerage and drainage rates and
charges Others (specify) Waste disposal and removal TOTAL (both
columns) Formula for apportionment of outgoings if the
lessee is not liable for the total amount Additional outgoings to be borne by
lessee Retail
Name of Retail
Shopping CentreAddress of Retail Shopping CentreSuburb/TownPostcodeNumber of Retail Shops in Retail Shopping
CentreGross Lettable Area
(sq m)Parking Facilities at Retail Shopping Centre• Number of bays for customers ...............
• Number of bays for lessees ...............
the lessorChanges or
developments planned by the lessor for:Retail Shopping Centre□ No□ YesAttach detailsSurrounding Roads□ No□ YesAttach detailsCore trading hours
(the times when retail shops in the shopping centre are required to be open
for business)Tenant mix (attach floor plan showing existing and proposed
tenancy mix of the precinct and the location of common areas and kiosks within
the precinct)This arrangement applies as at the date of this statement but may be
changed from time to time, subject to agreements or representations details of
which are given in this Disclosure Statement.Tenant Association□ No□ Yes Attach details of
constitution, voting rights, contributionsContribution to retail shopping centre advertising and
promotion□ No □ YesLessee’s
contribution $ per annumDetails as to
interest of lessor
Is the Lessor:□ Owner of the shop
[emsp ][emsp ]or□ Lessee of the shop
Give details of any rights and obligations of lessor under that
lease that may affect the shop.Details as to
agreements or representations
Give details of any other agreements between lessor and lessee, or
representations made by lessor or lessee including those relating to
exclusivity or limitations on competing uses.Note. Section 11A of the Retail Leases
Act 1994 requires a lessee’s disclosure statement to be
provided to the lessor within 7 days (or any agreed further period) of the
lessee receiving the lessor’s disclosure statement. The lessee may be
liable to a penalty for an offence under that Act if the lessee’s
disclosure statement is not so provided.Part 2 Lessee’s disclosure
statementAdvice to the lessor1 The lessee acknowledges that the attached Part 1, Lessor’s
Disclosure Statement, was received from the lessor prior to entering into the
lease.2 The lessor has made available to the lessee a copy of the proposed
retail shop lease.3 The lessee has sought/not sought independent advice in
respect of the commercial terms contained in the Lessor’s Disclosure
Statement and the obligations contained in the proposed retail shop
lease.4 The lessee believes that the lessee will be able to fulfil the
obligations contained in the lease, including the payment of the proposed
rent, outgoings and other amounts, based on the lessee’s own business
projections for the business.5 In entering into the retail shop lease, the lessee has relied on
the following statements or representations made by the lessor or the lessor
agents.Note. Matters such as agreements or representations relating to
exclusivity or limitations on competing uses, sales or customer traffic should
be detailed.6 Apart from the statements or representations set out above, no
other promises, representations, warranties or undertakings (other than those
contained in the lease) have been made by the lessor to the lessee in respect
of the premises or the business to be carried out on the
premises. Should more space be required please detail on another
page. Signed by or for and on behalf of the Lessee............................................................Date ............................................................Schedule 2A (Section 41)Assignor’s disclosure
statement1 The assignor has provided the assignee with the lessor’s
disclosure statement in respect of the lease together with details of any
changes to the information contained in the disclosure statement since the
statement was given.2 The assignee has been advised that there are no outstanding
notices in respect of the lease.3 The assignee has been advised that there are no outstanding
notices from any authority in respect of the retail
shop.4 The assignee has been advised that there are/are not any
encumbrances on the lease.5 The assignee has been advised that there are/are not any
encumbrances on, or outside ownership of, any of the fixtures and fittings
within the retail shop.6 The lessor has/has not conferred any rent concessions or other
benefits on the assignor during the term of the lease. The concessions and
benefits conferred on the assignor are: 7 The assignor has provided to the assignee sales figures and
relevant information as to the trading performance of the retail shop for the
past three years or for such period as the lease has been in operation if that
period is less than three years. The total (aggregate) sales figure for the
past 3 years, or such lesser period as the lease has been in operation, is as
(period/year)$ ..........(b)..........
(period/year)$ ..........(c)..........
(period/year)$ .......... Signed by or for and on behalf of the Assignor............................................................Date ............................................................Signed by or for and on behalf of the Assignee............................................................Date ............................................................Schedule 3 Savings and transitional provisions(Section 84A)Part 1 General1 Savings and transitional regulations(1) The regulations may contain provisions of a savings or
Acts:Retail Leases Amendment Act
1997Retail Leases Amendment Act
1998Retail Leases Amendment Act
2002Retail Leases Amendment Act
2004(2) A provision referred to in subclause (1) may, if the regulations
Part 2 Retail Leases Amendment Act
19972 Meaning of “1997 Amending Act”In this Part:1997 Amending
Act means the Retail Leases Amendment Act
1997.3 Application of 1997 amendmentsEach amendment made by the 1997 Amending Act extends to leases to
which this Act applies that were entered into before the commencement of the
amendment, subject to the other provisions of this
Part.4 Outgoings statements and reportsSection 28 (as substituted by the 1997 Amending Act) does not
apply to a report given under that section before the section was substituted.
Further, section 28 (as substituted) does not apply in respect of an
accounting period of a lessor that ended before the section was substituted,
unless the lessor elects to have the section apply in respect of that
accounting period.5 Adjustment of outgoings contributionsThe amendment to section 29 made by the 1997 Amending Act does not
apply in respect of an outgoings contribution period that ended before the
commencement of the amendment.6 Advertising and promotion statements and reportsSection 55 (as substituted by the 1997 Amending Act) does not
Further, section 55 (as substituted) does not apply in respect of an
accounting period.7 Mediation costsThe amendment to section 66 made by the 1997 Amending Act extends
to formal mediation commenced but not completed before the commencement of the
amendment.8 Interest on claimsSection 72A does not apply to a retail tenancy claim lodged with
the Commercial Tribunal before the commencement of that
section.Part 3 Retail Leases
Amendment Act 19989 Meaning of “1998 Amending Act”In this Part:1998 Amending
Act means the Retail Leases
Amendment Act 1998.10 Application of 1998 amendments(1) The amendments made by the 1998 Amending Act do not extend:(a) to leases in existence when this clause commences,
(b) to any lease entered into under an option granted or agreement
made before the commencement of this clause, or
(c) to any lease referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) that is assigned
subject to the other provisions of this Part and section
62A.(2) Despite subclause (1), the amendments made to Part 8 extend to
apply in relation to:(a) a retail shop lease or former lease that was entered into before
the commencement of the amendments to Part 8, or under an option granted or
agreement made before that commencement, and
(b) a dispute that arose before the commencement of the amendments to
Part 8 or that concerns a liability or obligation that arose before that
11 RelocationSection 34A, as inserted by the 1998 Amending Act, applies to the
relocation of a retail shop, if the shop is situated in a retail shopping
centre and the lease is a lease to which section 57 (as in force immediately
before its repeal by the 1998 Amending Act) applied immediately before its
repeal.12 Rent decreasesSection 18 (4), as amended by the 1998 Amending Act, extends to
leases that were entered into before the commencement of the amendment and to
which this Act applies, but only in respect of decreases in rent occurring
after that commencement.Part 4 Retail Leases
Amendment Act 200213 Recovery by lessor of GSTThe substitution of section 22A by the Retail Leases Amendment Act 2002
does not affect the previous operation of that section (as originally enacted)
in relation to the payment by or recovery from a lessee of the amount of any
GST payable in respect of the lease before the substitution of that
section.14 Non-specific outgoingsSection 30 (3) does not apply in respect of a liability to
contribute towards an outgoing of a lessor that arose before the commencement
of that subsection.Historical notesThe following abbreviations are used in the Historical notes: