Retail leasing in New South Wales underwent significant changes in January 2023, following amendments to the Retail Leases Act 1994 (NSW) . These changes, introduced through the Retail Leases Regulation 2022, aimed to modernise the retail leasing landscape and address gaps in tenant protections. For...

 If you are a retail tenant, and you wish to sell your business (and assign your lease to the business purchaser), or for any other reason, you wish to assign or transfer your lease to another party, then depending on the terms of your lease, you may need to obtain the prior consent of the landlord....

It is imperative for both landlords and tenants that whenever a retail lease is being negotiated, any required amendments to terms of the lease that remain to be negotiated are brought to the other party’s attention so that they can be negotiated, and the documents amended to reflect the negotiated ...

There are special rules that apply to commercial leases that fall within the definition of being a “retail lease”.  Under the Retail Leases Act 1994 (NSW), landlords must, amongst other things, comply with strict deadlines for providing various notices to their tenants.  It is therefore imperative t...

The responsibility for the payment of the costs of the water usage and electricity for a Kirrawee commercial property was the subject of a dispute dealt with by the District Court in 2017 – AAP Engineering Pty Ltd v Fernlog Pty Ltd [2017] NSWDC 141.

The tenant, Fernlog, leased a portion of the prop...

What is the best option when leasing commercial properties?

It is now standard practice when acting for landlords in commercial leasing, to request some kind of security from the tenant, typically a bank guarantee or security deposit in the form of a cash bond, and where applicable personal guarant...

As lawyers and Justices of the Peace, we are often asked to witness signatures on important documents such as Statutory Declarations.  As authorised witnesses, we must ensure that we comply with the witnessing requirements as set out in the Oaths Act for a number of reasons, otherwise we risk being ...

Commercial and retail leases typically contain a provision allowing the tenant to transfer (assign) the lease to another tenant. The need or desire to transfer the lease can arise in a number of different circumstances – most usually where the incoming tenant is purchasing from the outgoing tenant t...

What are outgoings?

Outgoings are expenses incurred by the landlord arising out of its ownership of the premises.

Typical outgoings include:

• Taxes fees and charges – e.g. Council rates, water rates, land tax
• Day to day costs – e.g. cleaning, garbage collection
• Maintenance and repair services
...

Commercial leases typically are for a fixed initial term of, say, 3 or 5 years, with an “option to renew” period of a further 3 or 5 years.  The lease document will note the specific dates within which you must exercise your option to renew the lease.  Usually the date range falls within 3 months an...

Consider this – you have entered into a contract to purchase a property, but for various reasons, the property no longer suits you.  But it will suit your parents perfectly.  So can you transfer the contract over to your parents, so that your parents are the purchasers?

Also consider this – your bu...