Michael Mercier Archives

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  - PO Box F338, Perth WA 6000
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Is your rent review void? VCAT finds a cap on CPI review void under Section 35(2) of the RLA

A recent decision of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), has found that a cap on a CPI review falls foul of section 35(2) of the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) (RLA) resulting in the rent being determined by market review in accordance with section 35(7) of the RLA. In this case, Q St […]

Is it really chicken! VCAT says no, confirming Landlords are entitled to withhold consent to an assignment of lease

A recent VCAT decision, Southern Restaurants Pty Ltd v United Petroleum Pty Ltd [2022] VCAT 666, has confirmed that an objective test applies under Section 60(1)(a) of the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) when landlords are looking to refuse consent to an assignment of a lease on the basis that an assignee proposes to use […]

Update on Retail Leases Amendment Regulations 2022 – Important reminder of a Landlord’s disclosure obligations

On 27 September 2022 the Retail Leases Amendment Regulations 2022 (Vic) (Amendment) was passed by the Victorian Parliament and comes into effect on 1 December 2022. The Amendment makes changes to the Retail Leases Regulations 2013 (Vic) (Regulations), which brings the prescribed form Landlord disclosure statements contained within the Regulations into line with the 2020 […]

COVID-19 | VIC Government introduces new legislation to regulate commercial leasing arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic

Following the Mandatory Code of Conduct released by the National Cabinet on 7 April 2020 (Code), the Victorian Parliament passed the COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) Bill 2020 (Vic) (COVID-19 Bill) to introduce a range of temporary measures to provide urgent relief for commercial tenants in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also contains provisions for […]

COVID-19 | WA Government introduces new legislation to regulate commercial leasing arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic

Following the Mandatory Code of Conduct released by the National Cabinet on 7 April 2020 (National Code of Conduct), the WA Legislative Council passed the Commercial Tenancies (COVID-19 Response) Bill 2020 (WA) (COVID-19 Bill) to introduce a range of temporary measures to provide for urgent relief for commercial tenants in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. […]

COVID-19 | Cth Government releases Code of Conduct for Commercial Leasing Arrangements

Following on from our earlier update, the Commonwealth Government has now released the mandatory Code of Conduct (Code) which the National Cabinet have agreed should be implemented by all states and territories in an effort to address the impacts of COVID-19 on commercial tenants (including retail, office and industrial). This announcement comes after the Government’s […]

Large retailers may be given the green light to collectively purchase electricity

You may or may not have seen in the media that on 20 September 2019 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a draft determination and interim authorisation giving members of the Large Format Retail Association (LFRA) a green light to begin the initial steps to collectively negotiate to purchase electricity. Members of the […]

Deeds of cross-guarantee as lease security – what a landlord needs to know

We have recently seen deeds of cross-guarantee being offered up by tenants looking to provide landlords with alternative forms of security to bank guarantees, as banks tighten up lending requirements, or parent company guarantees. What is a cross-guarantee? Typically a deed of cross-guarantee is lodged by a parent company with ASIC in support of […]

Death and taxes – one’s really going to hurt

As you will be aware, between February and May each year, the State Revenue Office issues land tax assessments for the calendar year to Victorian land owners (except where all landholding is exempt). The 2019 land tax assessment assesses landholdings owned by a land owner as at midnight on 31 December 2018. With property prices […]

Application of the RLA

Just when you thought navigating Victoria’s retail legislation couldn’t get any more complicated. A recent decision of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) in Bulk Powders Pty Ltd v Seicon Pty Ltd (Building and Property) [2018] VCAT 2000 bucks the trend when it comes to determining the application of the Retail Leases Act 2003 […]

Leasing Insider | Versus (Aust) Pty Ltd v A.N.H. Nominees Pty Ltd [2017] VCAT 859

Versus (Aus) Pty Ltd (the Tenant) leased retail premises located in Church Street, Brighton from A.N.H. Nominees Pty Ltd (the Landlord). The Tenant operated a lingerie business from the premises from June 2006 until the Tenant vacated in May 2011. The premises was affected by water and moisture ingress which resulted in excessive mould within […]