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Update On Retail And Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation 2020

As foreshadowed in our recent Client Alert, The NSW Government has now passed the Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation 2020 (Regulation), to give effect to the Commercial Tenancies Mandatory Code of Conduct (Code) that was announced by the Prime Minister in early April. As mentioned in our previous alert, the Regulation requires parties to renegotiate their Leases having regard to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the leasing principles set out in the Code. This is now law in NSW.

The Regulation applies to:
 
▪ retail shop leases under the Retail Leases Act 1994(NSW), and
▪ other leases of land or premises for commercial purposes (other than agricultural leases), 
 
which were entered into prior to 24 April 2020 (or entered into after 24 April 2020 by way of an option to extend or renew, or any other extension or renewal of an existing lease, on the same terms as the existing lease).
 
The majority of the provisions of the Regulation apply to leases where the tenant is an ‘impacted lessee’. An impacted lessee is a tenant who qualifies for the Commonwealth JobKeeper scheme and had a turnover for the 2018-2019 financial year of less than $50 million.
 
If you have any questions regarding any of the information above or would like to discuss anything further please don’t hesitate to contact our team on (02) 4927 2900.