Retail Leases Act 2003

A retail premises lease that provides for—

relocation of the tenant's business; or

termination of the lease and offer of a new lease of alternative retail premises—

The landlord cannot require the tenant's business to be relocated or terminate the lease and offer a new lease of alternative retail premises unless the landlord has provided the tenant with details of a proposed refurbishment, redevelopment or extension that are sufficient to indicate a genuine proposal that—

is to be carried out within a reasonably practicable time after the relocation; and

cannot be carried out practicably without vacant possession of the retail premises.

The landlord cannot require the tenant's business to be relocated or terminate the lease and offer a new lease of alternative retail premises unless the landlord has given the tenant at least 3 months' written notice of the relocation with details of reasonably comparable alternative retail premises to be made available to the tenant.

The tenant is entitled to be offered a new lease of the alternative retail premises on the same terms and conditions as the existing lease except that—

the term of the new lease is to be the same as the remaining term of the existing lease; and

the rent for the alternative retail premises is to be the same as the rent for the existing retail premises, adjusted to take into account the difference in the commercial values of the premises at the time of relocation.

Within one month after being given a relocation notice, the tenant may give the landlord a written notice of termination and the lease terminates 3 months after the relocation notice was given or at such other time as the landlord and tenant agree.

If the tenant does not give a notice of termination in accordance with subsection (5), the tenant is taken to have accepted the offer of a lease—

on the terms and conditions referred to in subsection (4); or

on the terms and conditions that are agreed by the landlord and tenant.

The tenant is entitled to payment by the landlord of the tenant's reasonable costs of the relocation, including (but not limited to) the costs of dismantling and reinstalling or modifying or replacing any fixtures and fittings and legal costs.

If the landlord and tenant cannot agree on the amount to which the tenant is entitled under subsection (7), that amount is to be determined by an independent quantity surveyor appointed by—

agreement between the landlord and tenant; or

if there is no agreement, the Small Business Commission—

The landlord is not liable to pay an amount under subsection (7) that is more than the amount agreed by the landlord and tenant, or determined by the independent quantity surveyor, as the case may be.