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Tenants commonly complain about water entering leased premises and affecting their use and enjoyment of a tenancy. In National Hospitality Group Pty Ltd v Regal Hotels Pty Ltd [2013] VCAT 413 a landlord was held to be liable to pay compensation to a tenant under s.54 of the Retail Leases Act 2003 despite there being no defects
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In an earlier post I referred to two cases in which the operator of restaurants in the Melbourne Casino and Entertainment Complex succeeded in claims that they were entitled to additional 5 year terms despite their leases not containing such a term. See: Cosmopolitan Hotel (Vic) Pty Ltd v Crown Melbourne Limited and Fish and Company (Vic) Pty Ltd v Crown
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The November 2012 LIV Lease excuses a tenant from performing any work that is the responsibility of the owner under the Building Act 1993. See: clause 3.3.3 which provides that the tenant is not obliged “to carry out any work that applicable legislation makes the responsibility of the landlord”. The new LIV Lease also excludes from outgoings
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In Create Invest Develop Pty Ltd v Cooma Clothing Pty Ltd [2012] VCAT 1907 VCAT had to decide the effect of a contract entered into by a tenant with a party that was not the registered proprietor of the leased land but who subsequently became the registered proprietor. The case is a good illustration of the
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Happy 2013 to you all. This blog has been quiet in recent times but that will change this year. In Computer & Parts Land Pty Ltd v Property Sunrise Pty Ltd [2012] VCAT 1522 the Tribunal was asked to determine whether an option contained in a lease was not exercisable by the tenant because of breaches of
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The latest edition of The Mortgagee’s Power of Sale has been published. Now in its third edition this book started life in 1980. The book is primarily written for practitioners and the text is arranged, as far as possible, in the same chronological order as the steps a mortgagee may take in selling mortgaged property under the power
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Last week I presented a paper at the Leo Cussen Centre for Law’s Property Law Conference entitled “Essential Services and the Recovery of Expenses”. The paper can be found here: Leo Cussen paper (October 2012)
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Occasionally I am asked whether premises are “retail premises” under s 4(1) of the Retail Leases Act 2003 where a retail business is conducted on a small piece of a substantial area of leased land. This issue arose in Bretair Pty Ltd v Cave [2012] VCAT 1039. The premises were used as a service station and road house restaurant business. The
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It is often difficult to determine whether premises are “retail premises” within the meaning of s 4 of the Retail Leases Act 2003 Act. Section 4(1) provides that “retail premises” means premises that: “under the terms of the lease relating to the premises are used, or are to be used, wholly or predominantly for –
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In Ireland v Subway Systems Australia Pty Ltd and Subway Realty Pty Ltd [2012] VCAT 1061 a tenant contended if an agreement (which it contended was a licence) was held to be a lease then the dispute had to be determined by an arbitrator pursuant to an arbitration clause and not by VCAT. The arbitration clause
