New Disclosure Statements for Retail Tenants
14 October 2013
Following the introduction of new retail leasing regulations on 22 April 2013, there are now four separate disclosure statements for the following situations:
- new leases of premises not located in a retail shopping centre
- new leases of premises located in a retail shopping centre
- renewals of lease
- assignments of lease that involve the sale of an ongoing business
The disclosure statements for new premises reproduce most sections of the former multifunction disclosure statement (but without the shopping centre specific provisions in the case of retail premises not located in a shopping centre).
The disclosure statement for lease renewal only requires the landlord to give the tenant notice of any possible alteration works which are planned, any other monetary obligations and any other matters that may materially affect the tenant’s business.
The disclosure statement for lease assignments must be prepared by the outgoing tenant, and requires the outgoing tenant to make certain disclosures concerning the provision of business records, notices received from the landlord during the term, any material variations to the lease, and the type and amount of outgoings which the outgoing tenant was liable to pay in the previous 12 month period.
The new disclosure statements replaced the former multi-function disclosure statement for all occasions on 22 July 2013.