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ARTICLE · 11 APRIL 2019

Valuer and Retail Leases Update – Sub-letting and consent

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With respect to subletting, the relevant clause only stated that the landlord could not unreasonably withhold consent.

AustraliaReal Estate and Construction
Rohan Ingleton
Rohan Ingleton

In brief

Last week I had to give advice on whether a landlord could withhold consent to a proposed sublease. The relevant clause in the lease (which was not a retail lease) had detailed provisions concerning an assignment but with respect to subletting, it was only stated that the landlord could not unreasonably withhold consent.

The landlord’s reply to the tenant was that it was considering the matter and would not be able to respond for a number of months.

In my view, this is a breach of the lease by the landlord as it is simply not acceptable that a tenant has to wait several months for an answer.

What you need to know

If a tenant seeks consent to a subletting, there are two steps that need to be followed by the landlord, namely as follows:

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The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances. Madgwicks is a member of Meritas, one of the world's largest law firm alliances.

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