Retail & Commercial Leasing: COVID-19, Rent Relief & Termination
Issues covered include: retail lease, landlord disclosure obligations, RSLA, negotiating clauses, tax basics, GST, leasing and income tax, tenancy, termination, tenant
Description
Gain an indispensable roundup of the new legislation and regulations impacting leasing along with an analysis of how it’s all playing out in practice. Explore the fundamentals of retail leases and the impact of the Mandatory Code, how rent relief negotiations & disputes are working out, and gain a timely guide to ending a tenancy
Attend and earn 3 CPD units in Legal Knowledge
This program is based on QLD legislation
Chair: Assistant Professor Tammy Johnson, Faculty of Law, Bond University
2.00pm to 3.00pm: Fundamental Obligations Under the Retail Shop Leases Act & the Mandatory Code
- When does the Retail Shop Leases Act (RSLA) apply?
- General definitions, rules and exceptions
- The new Mandatory Code of Conduct for Commercial Leasing and its application
- Obligations & restrictions under the RSLA
- Rent; rent reviews; outgoings; relocation; demolition; compensation
- Impact of the Mandatory Code
- Landlord disclosure obligations
- When does the RSLA impose disclosure obligations?
- Disclosures before lease; before assignment; to a franchisee/subtenant; options to renew
- What must be disclosed and how?
Presented by Cameron Graham, Partner, Thynne + Macartney; Recommended Property & Real Estate and Leasing Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2019
3.00pm to 3.45pm: Your Tax Basics Toolkit for Leasing
- A guide to tax advice provided by lawyers on leasing
- Duty on grant or assignment of leases
- What are the issues and challenges you need to know?
- What to watch out for when foreign parties are involved
- GST in leasing
- Spotting the issues: when and how GST applies in the leasing context
- Leasing and income tax
- Lease incentives and their tax implications
- Foreign resident CGT withholding
Presented by Chris Davis, Principal, McInnes Wilson Lawyers; Accredited Specialist in Taxation Law; Recommended Tax Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2018
3.45pm to 4.00pm Break
4.00pm to 4.45pm: Rent Relief Negotiation, Documentation & Disputes: Strategies and Examples
- General tips for negotiating rent relief in the current environment
- Key drafting issues
- Examples of what to include or not include in a rent relief agreement
- How will rent relief disputes play out in practice?
Presented by Brian Noble, Director, Noble Advice Pty Ltd
4.45pm to 5.15pm: A Guide to Ending the Tenancy During COVID-19 & Beyond
- Termination on expiry
- Relevance of holding over provisions
- Early termination
- General principles
- The COVID-19 induced moratorium on evictions
- When can a tenant seek relief against forfeiture?
- Holding on to goods after a tenant leaves
Presented by David Topp, Barrister, Bank of New South Wales Chambers