Retail Leases Act 2022

A tenant may make a request to a landlord for the landlord’s consent to the assignment of a retail lease.

Subject to subsection (3), a request made to a landlord under subsection (1) must – be in writing; and include such information as the landlord may reasonably require to be satisfied that the financial resources and business experience of the proposed assignee are not inferior to those of the tenant.

Before making a request to a landlord under subsection (1), a tenant must give the proposed assignee all of the following information and documents:a copy of the most recent landlord’s disclosure statement given to the tenant concerning the retail lease; details of any changes of which the tenant is aware, or could reasonably be expected to be aware, that have affected the information in the landlord’s disclosure statement since it was given to the tenant; details of the legal liability of the tenant or of a guarantor of the tenant under the retail lease that is proposed to be assigned; details of any legal liability of the tenant or of a guarantor of the tenant that may continue if the retail lease is assigned as proposed; if the assignment is in connection with a lease of retail premises that are to continue to be used for the carrying on of an ongoing business, the business records for the previous 3 years or such shorter period as the tenant has carried on the business at the retail premises.

For the purpose of enabling a tenant to comply with subsection (3), the tenant may request a landlord to give the tenant an updated landlord’s disclosure statement that is current from a specified date that is within 3 months before the updated landlord’s disclosure statement is given to the tenant by the landlord.

If requested to do so under subsection (4), the landlord must give the tenant the updated landlord’s disclosure statement within 14 days after receiving the request. In the case of – a body corporate, a fine not exceeding 10 penalty units; and an individual, a fine not exceeding 10 penalty units.

If the landlord does not give the tenant an updated landlord’s disclosure statement within 14 days as required under subsection (5), it is sufficient compliance with subsection (3) for the tenant to provide the proposed assignee with an updated disclosure statement completed by the tenant to the best of the tenant’s knowledge.

Subject to section 58 and within 28 days after a landlord receives a request from a tenant in accordance with subsection (1), the landlord must – consent to the proposed assignment of the retail lease and give the tenant written notice that the landlord has consented to the proposed assignment of the retail lease; or refuse to consent to the proposed assignment of the retail lease and give the tenant a written statement of the grounds on which consent is refused.

A landlord is taken to have consented to the proposed assignment of a retail lease if – the tenant has complied with this section; and the landlord has not, within 28 days after receiving a request from a tenant in accordance with subsection (1), given written notice to the tenant consenting to, or a written statement refusing to consent to, the proposed assignment of the lease.

A retail lease that is assigned in accordance with this section continues on the same terms and conditions to which the lease was subject before the assignment and a new retail lease is not created by virtue of the assignment of the retail lease.