Retail Leases Act 1994 (NSW)

Retail Leases Act 1994 No 46

An Act to make provision with respect to the leasing of certain retail shops and the rights and obligations of lessors and lessees of those shops, and for other purposes.

Part 1 Preliminary

Note— This Act applies to leases of retail shops, with certain limitations. To understand those limitations— * see the definition of retail shop in section 3 for the shops to which this Act applies, * see sections 5 and 6B for the retail shops that are excluded from the operation of this Act, * see sections 6, 6A and 84B for the leases that are excluded from the operation of this Act.

1 Name of Act This Act may be cited as the Retail Leases Act 1994.

2 Commencement This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.

3 Definitions (1) In this Act— authorised deposit-taking institution means an authorised deposit-taking institution within the meaning of the Banking Act 1959 of the Commonwealth. business day means any day except Saturday or Sunday or a day that is a public or bank holiday throughout the State. Department means the Department of Customer Service. exercise of a function includes the performance of a duty. function includes a power, authority or duty. GST has the same meaning as in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 of the Commonwealth and includes notional GST of the kind for which payments may be made under section 5 of the Intergovernmental Agreement Implementation (GST) Act 2000 by a person who is a State entity within the meaning of that Act. key-money means any money paid to or at the direction of a lessor or lessor's agent, by way of a premium, non-repayable bond or otherwise, or any benefit that is conferred on or at the direction of a lessor or lessor's agent, in connection with the granting, renewal, extension or assignment of a lease (and a reference in this Act to the payment of key-money includes a reference to the conferral of any such benefit). lawyer means a barrister or solicitor. lease preparation expenses means legal or other expenses incurred by the lessor in connection with the preparation or entering into of a retail shop lease including expenses incurred in connection with obtaining the consent of a mortgagee but does not include registration fees under the Real Property Act 1900. lessee means the person who has the right to occupy a retail shop under a retail shop lease, and includes a sublessee and a lessee's or sublessee's heirs, executors, administrators and assigns. lessee's disclosure statement means a statement referred to in section 11A. lessor means the person who grants or proposes to grant the right to occupy a retail shop under a retail shop lease, and includes a sublessor and a lessor's or sublessor's heirs, executors, administrators and assigns. lessor's disclosure statement means a statement referred to in section 11. lettable area of a retail shop does not include— (a) car parking spaces, or (b) storage areas not attached to the retail shop premises where the business of the shop is or is to be carried on. licensed conveyancer means the holder of a licence in force under the Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003. listed business means a business prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (a) of the definition of retail shop (including a business for the time being specified in Schedule 1). outgoings—see section 3A. party means the lessor or the lessee under a retail shop lease. permanent retail market—see section 6B. premises includes a defined area (for example, a stall in a market) in a building or other permanent structure. Registrar means the Registrar of Retail Tenancy Disputes referred to in Part 8. retail shop means premises that— (a) are used, or proposed to be used, wholly or predominantly for the carrying on of one or more of the businesses prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph (whether or not in a retail shopping centre), or (b) are used, or proposed to be used, for the carrying on of any business (whether or not a business prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (a)) in a retail shopping centre.