Business and commercial
Retail lease lawyers in Perth for shop, café and franchise tenants
Whether the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Act 1985 (WA) applies does not depend on what the lease is called. It turns on the premises, their size and their use, and it changes what the landlord must disclose, which terms are enforceable and where a dispute is decided. Check coverage before signing, not after a problem arises.
Conflict clearance and written engagement are required before the firm acts.Quick answer
What is a retail shop lease in Western Australia and what protections does it give a tenant?
In Western Australia the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Act 1985 can apply to a lease regardless of what the document is titled, depending on the premises, their size and their use. Where it applies it can require the landlord to provide a disclosure statement before the lease is entered into, support a minimum overall tenancy period for eligible tenants, restrict passing certain lease preparation costs to the tenant, regulate rent reviews, and send disputes to the State Administrative Tribunal rather than court.
- Coverage depends on the premises and their use, not the lease's title.
- Landlords generally must give a disclosure statement before the lease is entered into.
- There are statutory limits on recovering certain lease preparation costs from a retail tenant.
- Retail tenancy disputes in WA are generally heard in the State Administrative Tribunal.
- Assignment on sale of the business needs landlord consent, and guarantees need a release.
Jurisdiction: Western Australia.
Is your lease a retail shop lease?
A lease titled "Commercial Lease" can still be a retail shop lease under the Act. What generally matters is the nature of the premises and its use: smaller premises used for retail businesses, and premises within retail shopping centres, are commonly covered, while some larger premises and some tenants fall outside it. Getting this question right is the first step in any review, because it changes what the landlord must give you, which terms are enforceable, and where disputes are decided. We confirm coverage as part of every retail lease review.
Protections retail tenants often do not know about
Depending on your circumstances, WA retail tenancy legislation can provide protections that ordinary commercial tenants do not get. Which of them apply, and how, depends on your lease and premises. The practical point is that a retail tenant should not negotiate as though they have no leverage.
- Disclosure obligations: landlords are generally required to give a disclosure statement before the lease is entered into, and failures can give the tenant remedies.
- Provisions supporting a minimum overall tenancy period for eligible tenants, which matters if you have invested in fit-out.
- Statutory restrictions on passing certain lease preparation costs to a retail tenant.
- Regulation of how and when rent can be reviewed under a retail shop lease.
- Retail tenancy disputes are generally dealt with in the State Administrative Tribunal, which is designed to be faster and less costly than court.
What a review covers before you sign
A review before signing is where legal advice pays for itself, because it is the last point at which the terms can still change. You receive a written report of the issues, what we would push back on, and what is standard for the WA market.
- Whether the Act applies, and whether disclosure obligations have been met.
- Term, options to renew, and exactly how an option must be exercised.
- Rent, the rent review method, and outgoings: what you will actually pay.
- Fit-out obligations, landlord contributions, and who owns the fit-out at the end.
- Permitted use, and whether it is wide enough for how the business may evolve.
- Make-good: the condition you must return the premises in, and its likely cost.
- Personal guarantees and bank guarantees being asked of you.
- Assignment provisions, critical if you may sell the business during the term.
- Relocation and demolition clauses, common in shopping centre leases.
Franchise and shopping centre tenants
Franchisees face two documents at once, and how they interact matters: what happens to the lease if the franchise ends, and the reverse. Shopping centre leases add their own layer, including turnover rent, marketing levies, trading hour obligations and redevelopment clauses. We review both documents together so the combined commitment is clear before you sign either.
Hospitality premises
Cafés and restaurants are among the most common retail leases we review, and they carry particular issues: grease trap and exhaust obligations, trading hours, outdoor seating approvals, and fit-out and make-good costs materially higher than most retail uses. Those are flagged specifically as part of the review.
Advice in English and Vietnamese
Many of Perth's retail and hospitality businesses are family-run and Vietnamese-speaking. We explain the lease, the disclosure statement and any guarantee in Vietnamese or English, so nobody signs a document they have not fully understood.
Process
- 1
Send us the lease, the disclosure statement and anything else the landlord has given you.
- 2
We confirm whether the Act applies and quote a fixed fee in writing.
- 3
Full review, and a written report of the issues and what we would change.
- 4
A call to work through the report and decide what to negotiate.
- 5
Negotiation and amendments, quoted separately, if you want us to run it.
What to prepare
- The draft lease, and any offer to lease or heads of agreement.
- The landlord's disclosure statement, if you have received one.
- Any plans showing the premises, its area and the fit-out.
- Any guarantee or bank guarantee the landlord has asked for.
- Correspondence with the landlord or agent about the commercial terms.
Risks, deadlines and common mistakes
- Signing an offer to lease before the terms are reviewed: it can bind you before the formal lease is signed.
- Missing the window to exercise an option to renew, which can end the tenancy.
- Make-good obligations discovered at the end of a long term, when the cost is unavoidable.
- A personal guarantee that survives selling the business, unless a release is negotiated.
- Assuming the premises are not retail because the document is titled a commercial lease.
Fees and scope
A retail lease review is $1,100 including GST per lease document for the lease itself, plus $550 for review of the landlord's disclosure statement and advice on whether the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Act applies, so a full retail lease review is $1,650. If we are also acting on your business settlement the lease review is $750 instead of $1,100, making a full retail review $1,300. The published fee covers leases of up to 50 pages; longer leases, multiple leases or subleases, and premises with a separate centre rules or fit-out manual are quoted individually, and we tell you before doing any work beyond the published scope. Negotiation with the landlord and preparation of amendments are quoted separately after the review, because the cost depends on how the other side responds.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my lease is covered by the Retail Shops Act in WA?+
You often cannot tell from the document itself. Coverage depends on the premises, their size and use, and in some cases who the tenant is, not on the lease's title. A lease called a commercial lease can still be a retail shop lease under the Act. We confirm coverage as the first step of every review, because it determines which protections and obligations apply.
What is a disclosure statement and when should I receive it?+
A disclosure statement is a document the landlord is generally required to give a retail tenant before the lease is entered into, summarising key terms such as rent, outgoings and other costs. If disclosure was not given or was materially incomplete, the tenant may have remedies under the Act. Keep every document the landlord gives you and bring them to the review.
Can my landlord make me pay their legal costs for preparing the lease?+
For retail shop leases in WA there are statutory restrictions on passing certain lease preparation costs to the tenant. Whether a specific cost clause is enforceable depends on the lease and the Act, and it is one of the standard items we check in a review.
What happens if I want to sell my business mid-lease?+
The lease almost always requires the landlord's consent to assign it to the buyer. The Act regulates aspects of that process for retail leases, and your obligations, including under any personal guarantee, may continue after assignment unless properly released. Start on it early, because landlord consent can take time.
Where are retail lease disputes decided in WA?+
Most retail tenancy disputes in WA are dealt with through the State Administrative Tribunal, which is generally faster and less formal than court. Many disputes resolve before reaching the Tribunal once each side's position is set out in correspondence.
Do you review leases for cafés and restaurants?+
Yes. Hospitality premises are among the most common retail leases we review, and they carry particular issues: grease trap and exhaust obligations, trading hours, outdoor seating approvals, and fit-out and make-good costs higher than most retail uses. We flag the hospitality-specific traps as part of the review.
How much does a retail lease review cost?+
$1,100 including GST for the lease, plus $550 for the disclosure statement review, so $1,650 for a full retail review. If we are also acting on your business settlement the lease review is $750, making the full review $1,300. The fee is confirmed in writing before any work starts.
Can this be handled in Vietnamese?+
Yes. The lease, the disclosure statement and any guarantee can be explained in Vietnamese, at the same fee.