Retail Lease Lawyer Melbourne
Retail lease lawyers for Melbourne businesses. We review and draft retail leases for landlords and tenants under the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic).
- Fixed fee lease review.
- Disclosure statements and 5-year waiver advice.
- Online, no need to come in.
We act for landlords and tenants of Victorian premises, wherever their business is based.
What the Victorian Act requires
The Act applies to most leases of premises used wholly or mainly for retail. A lease can’t contract out of it. The main rules are:
- Disclosure statement. The landlord must give you a disclosure statement and a copy of the proposed lease within the period the Act sets before you enter the lease.
- Information brochure. The landlord must also give you the information brochure published by the Victorian Small Business Commission (VSBC).
- Minimum 5-year term. The term, including options, must be at least 5 years. You can agree to less only with a waiver certificate issued by the VSBC under section 21.
- Outgoings. The landlord can only recover outgoings the lease specifies. It must give you an estimate in advance and an annual statement of what was spent. Land tax can’t be recovered.
- Legal costs. The landlord can’t charge you its legal costs of preparing the lease.
Advice for tenants
For tenants, we review the lease and the disclosure statement together and check that they match. We look at rent and rent reviews, the outgoings estimate, make good, the personal guarantee, options and assignment.
If the term is under 5 years, we explain what you’d give up and help you apply to the VSBC for the waiver certificate, for a fixed fee. You get written advice and a list of points to raise with the landlord.
Setting up the lease for landlords
For landlords, we draft the lease and the disclosure statement, and tell you when each document must go to the tenant. We set up the outgoings clauses so that what you recover matches what the Act allows.
If you’re offering a term under 5 years, the tenant needs a waiver certificate from the VSBC, and must give you a copy. Most landlords ask for it before signing. We tell you what to ask for.
Assignments
If you’re selling a business, the landlord can only refuse consent to the assignment on the grounds the Act lists. The outgoing tenant must give the incoming tenant the landlord’s disclosure statement and details of any changes. If the outgoing tenant also gives the landlord and the incoming tenant its own disclosure statement in the prescribed form, and it isn’t false, misleading or materially incomplete, the outgoing tenant and guarantors can be released from liability. See our page on assignment of a retail lease.
Disputes
Most retail tenancy disputes go to mediation through the VSBC first. If mediation doesn’t resolve the dispute, it can go to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
Where to find us
Alexander Hone Lawyers
Level 3, 98–100 Elizabeth Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Questions
Something else? Enquire online or email us.
Can I sign a retail lease for less than 5 years?
Yes, if you get a waiver certificate from the Victorian Small Business Commission (VSBC) and give the landlord a copy. The VSBC issues it free through an online application, and must consider a request made up to 90 days after you enter the lease. Without one, the lease is treated as running for 5 years.
Can the landlord pass land tax on to me?
No. Under the Act, a landlord can't recover land tax from the tenant of a retail lease, even if the lease says otherwise.
Do I have to go to mediation before VCAT?
For most retail tenancy disputes, yes. VCAT will usually only hear the dispute once the VSBC has certified that mediation failed or is unlikely to resolve it.
Taking on or granting a retail lease?
Send us the lease and the disclosure statement, or the terms you've agreed, and we'll tell you the next step.
- Fixed fees.
- Online, Australia-wide.
- Landlords and tenants.