Retail lease reforms a lost opportunity: John Cunningham

GUEST OBSERVER

The retail leasing industry and small businesses throughout NSW have been let down by the government’s failure to introduce a standard mandatory lease for strip shops.

Reforms introduced into state Parliament last night were a major opportunity to make doing business easier for tenants, agents and landlords on the retail strip.

REINSW pushed for a standard mandatory lease for strip shops, a similar concept to the residential tenancy agreement (RTA), which would allow for a lease to be entered into on the spot and would make dispute resolution easier.

If retail leasing had gone this way the retail sector would have enjoyed huge economies and efficiencies. Instead, leaving this out of the reforms is an opportunity lost.

The Retail Leases (Amendment) Bill 2016 was passed through NSW Legislative Assembly last night (21 February 2017) following a lengthy review process with the some 44,500 retail businesses throughout NSW affected by the legislation.

REINSW put forward a submission, which included the key recommendation of a mandatory lease. The submission is available on request. 

John Cunningham is president, REINSW and can be contacted here.