Retail and Commercial Leasing Review
Issues covered include: Leasing, refurbishment, demolition, ipso facto, early access agreements, leasing incentives, clawbacks, VCAT, lease disputes, leasing disputes, tenant defaults, tenant lockouts, non-performance
Description
There are countless issues that can arise between a tenant and a landlord. Any of them can quickly spiral into chaotic quagmires and contentious disputes that your clients will expect you to fix efficiently and effectively. Ready yourself for the turmoil your clients will heave upon you by catching up on game changing new laws, significant reforms, and how to resolve some of the more difficult challenges that arise in leasing.
Attend and earn 7 CPD units in Substantive Law
This conference was recorded in VIC on 14 March 2019
Session 1
Leasing Updates and Practical Strategies
Chair: Romana Duthie, Partner, Gadens
9.00am to 10.00am: Leasing Law Update: New Developments, Trends, and Cases
Examine the latest cases and trends in leasing and consider the practical takeaways you can apply to your practice.
Presented by Jamie Bedelis, Principal, Bedelis Lawyers; Accredited Specialist in Commercial Tenancy Law
10.00am to 11.00am: Giving a Tenant Notice: Refurbishment, Redevelopment and Demolition
- Drafting for refurbishment and demolition
- The distinctions between commercial leases and retail leases
- Negotiating an exit with the tenant
- Obligations in relation to relocation of a tenant under the Retail Leases Act
Presented by Gia Cari, Senior Associate, Arnold Bloch Liebler
11.00am to 11.15am Morning Tea
11.15am to 12.15pm: The Consequences of the Legislation Affecting Ipso Facto Clauses in Leases
- The ipso facto insolvency reforms applying to new contracts and agreements
- Rights that may be affected, including the right to terminate, suspend performance and more
- Exemptions that are relevant to the property industry
- Impact on leases and a landlord’s ability to terminate for an insolvency event: updating termination clauses in leases
- Reviewing contracts and making amendments to mitigate risk in the event of an insolvency or default
Presented by Amy Sheggerud-Woods, Special Counsel, Mills Oakley; Accredited Specialist in Commercial Litigation
12.15pm to 1.15pm: Early Access Agreements, Leasing Incentives and Clawbacks: Drafting and Enforcement Strategies
- Early access agreements
- Access prior to formal lease documentation
- Objectives, strategies, requirements and what to include in an early access agreement clause
- Incentives
- Cash payments, rent reductions, rent free periods, fitout contributions
- Clawbacks
- When is a clawback of an incentive a penalty and therefore unenforceable?
- Managing the risks of incentive clauses and clawbacks
Presented by Richard Skopal, Partner, Holding Redlich; Best Lawyers 2019, Leasing Law and Real Property Law
Session 2
Breaches, Disputes and Conflict in Leasing
Chair: Max Cameron, Partner, MinterEllison; Leading Leasing, Property & Real Estate Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2018; Best Lawyers 2019, Real Property Law
2.00pm to 3.00pm: Practice and Procedure in VCAT: a Practical Checklist for Retail and Commercial Leasing Disputes
- Navigating the Building and Property List
- Retail tenancy disputes and jurisdictional issues: certificates and applications
- Commercial tenancy disputes: jurisdiction and the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012
- What you need to know about how applications are processed: tips to avoid your application being rejected
- Review and hearings: insights into the Tribunal’s processes
- Injunctions: timelines, urgent cases, ex parte applications, and evidentiary issues
- Checklist of considerations in retail and commercial leasing matters in VCAT
Presented by Deputy President Eric Riegler, Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
3.00pm to 4.00pm: Tenant Defaults and Lockouts
- What rights does the lessor have to re-enter the property after there has been a default?
- Different ways of terminating a lease
- When can a tenant seek relief against forfeiture?
- Holding on to goods after a tenant leaves
- Recovering unpaid costs
Presented by Robert Hay QC, Greens List
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon Tea
4.15pm to 5.15pm: Tenant vs Landlord: Recourses for Tenants for Landlord Non-Performance
- A landlord’s common law duties and exactly what constitutes a breach
- Statutory requirements under the Retail Leases Act
- Promises implied in a lease: what implied covenants can a tenant rely on and what sorts of situations might give rise to a breach?
- Understanding compensation, damages and rent abatement
Presented by Elizabeth Ruddle, Barrister, Foley’s List