More headaches for Victorian landlords with passage of Retail Leases Amendment Bill 2019

Proposed amendments to the Retail Leases Act 2003 introduced into Victorian State Parliament late last year have now been passed, along with legislation extending the COVID-19 provisions for rent relief and other assistance to commercial tenants.

The provisions in the Retail Leases Amendment Bill 2019 dealing with essential services measures came into effect on 23 September 2020. The balance of the Act will come into operation on the earlier of the date of proclamation and 1 October 2020.

In anticipation of these new provisions coming into operation, landlords need to urgently review their administrative processes to ensure that all appropriate processes are followed when leases are entered into or options are available for exercise. Those processes include:

• preparing appropriate precedent option notices;
• ensuring careful diarising of the relevant dates for notice by itself and the tenant; and
• updating precedent leases to allow for recovery of costs associated with essential safety measures.

RELATED KNOWLEDGE

• Victorian landlords will need to review administration processes, if changes to the Retail Leases Act are passed