The Retail Leases Amendment (Review) Act 2017 (NSW)
commenced on 1 July 2017. Schedule 1 to that Act sets out the
amendments which have been made to the Retail Leases Act
1994 (NSW).
What follows is a brief summary of the main changes which will
now typically apply to leasing transactions.
1. Registration requirements
Where a retail shop lease has a term of more than 3 years
(including option terms), or where the parties agree that the lease
is to be registered, the landlord must lodge the lease for
registration within 3 months of it being returned to the landlord
following execution by the tenant.
2. Removal of minimum 5 year lease term
The requirement that a retail lease must be for a minimum 5 year
term has been removed. This allows for more flexibility by parties
in negotiating leases for a shorter term. Consequently, there is
now no need to obtain the previous 'section 16 certificate'
for leases that were under 5 years.
