Retail shop lease costs

Lessee’s liability for costs associated with the retail shop lease

A lessee under a retail shop lease is not liable to pay any amount for the lessor’s legal or other expenses in relation to the following:

• preparing, renewing or extending the retail shop lease;
• obtaining the consent of a mortgagee of the lessor;
• the lessor’s compliance with the Retail Shop Leases Act 1994 (Qld).

However, that does not prevent a lessee under a retail shop lease from being required to pay for the following:

• survey fees associated with the registration of the retail shop lease;
• registration of the lease.

Also, it does not prevent the prospective lessee from being required to pay for the prospective lessor’s reasonable legal or other expenses incurred for preparation of a final lease if:

• the prospective lessor and prospective lessee agree to the terms of a proposed retail shop lease; and
• the prospective lessee gives the prospective lessor a written notice to prepare a final lease and the final lease is prepared; and
• the prospective lessee does not sign the final lease; and
• the prospective lessor gives the prospective lessee a copy of the prospective lessor’s invoice for expenses for the preparation of the final lease.

A ‘final lease’ means a lease to be signed by the parties to give effect to the agreed terms of a proposed retail shop lease.

If you are entering a new retail shop lease or taking over an existing retail shop lease, and you would like to obtain legal advice in relation to the terms and conditions proposed in retail shop lease (to ensure they are compliant with the Act), including having the mandatory legal advice report certificate prepared and signed by a duly qualified and licenced lawyer, please contact AdviiLaw today to obtain an obligation free quote. Contact us on 07 3088 7937 or email us at [email protected].

This commentary is of a general nature only, containing nothing more than some general information for the reader. It is not intended to be legal advice, nor cannot it be relied upon as legal advice. To this end, please read our Website Terms including the disclaimer contained therein carefully. Laws, rules and principles may be subject to sudden and unexpected changes and you should always consult a lawyer about your specific circumstances.