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If you’re the landlord to any commercial lease, you need a Retail Lease. And it’s important to have this lease prepared by a lawyer.
A Retail Lease is defined in the Retail Leases Act, and applies to retail shops or any business being carried out in a retail shopping centre.
And, if you’re offering a retail shop for lease, you are required to have a proposed lease to give to your tenant.
How Does A Retail Lease Work?
If you’ve found yourself a tenant who would like to lease your retail shop, that’s great!
As soon as you start negotiations with a prospective lessee, it’s important that you give them:
- The proposed lease;
- The Retail Tenancy Guide; and
- A Disclosure Document
Typically, the lessor (you) will have to prepare the lease to give to your lessee. Leases differ across every state in Australia, which is why you need to have a lawyer prepare one for you.
Generally, a Retail Lease Agreement will cover terms around:
- What happens if there’s a dispute?
- What is the term of the lease? (How long will it last?)
- How much notice will the tenant have to provide to exit the lease?
- What if you want to renovate or refurbish the property?
Having a lawyer-guided process in preparing a Retail Lease is an important way to make sure your interests are being protected. For example, as a lessor, you may want to demolish or re-develop the premises later down the track. This is where you might need a “demolition clause” that allows you to do this (and clarifies whether you need to provide compensation to the lessee in this case).
In this way, an experienced lawyer will be able to advise you of the key issues in a Retail Lease and what you need to look out for. In particular, if you’re locking yourself into a long-term lease, it’s really important to understand what you’re signing up to.
As such, it’s always a good idea to reach out to a lawyer before you commit to having a tenant.
Need Legal Help?
If you need help having a Retail Lease prepared, don’t hesitate to reach out to us! Our friendly team will be happy to assist or answer any questions.
You can give us a call on 1800 730 617 or drop a line at team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations consultation.
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