What should I look for when considering a new Retail Lease?

Introduction

When you are looking at a new Lease for retail Premises, you should receive from the Landlord or Leasing Agent a draft Lease and a Disclosure Statement.

What is Disclosure Statement?

A Disclosure Statement is a document which sets out the details of the Premises, the rent, outgoings, your contributions to other costs and other matters which impact your use of the Premises. This will give you some idea of the costs that you would incur during the Lease.

You should read through the Lease carefully, noting any clauses which transfer obligations or costs to you (eg. outgoings, repairs, maintenance, etc). Be aware of clauses on matters such as rent reviews, your rights in transferring the lease or sub-leasing, the Landlord's installations, the security deposit and the default provisions.

You should also ensure that no clause purports to limit the effect of the Retail Leases Act 2003 ('the Act'). The Act operates over retail Premises and for the most part acts to protect a Tenant by providing certain rights to the Tenant and obligations on the Landlord.

The Lease will govern your relationship with your Landlord through the life of your Business at the Premises and will impact the value of your Business. You should ensure that you obtain proper legal advice on it prior to signing.

The information contained in this article is intended to be of a general nature only and should not be relied upon as legal advice. Any legal matters should be discussed specifically with one of our lawyers.

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