COVID-19 – Impacts for Commercial Leases & Commercial Contracts
Commercial Leases
The Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation 2020 (NSW) (the Regulation) commenced on 24 April 2020. The purpose of this Regulation is to give effect to the National Cabinet Mandatory Code of Conduct for Commercial Leases (the Code) which was announced by the National Cabinet on 7 April 2020.
Key aspects of the Regulation include:
- the Regulation applies to both retail leases and commercial leases
- to qualify for relief, the tenant must be an “impacted lessee” – that is, they qualify for the JobKeeper program and have turnover of less than $50 million for the 2018-2019 financial year
- a landlord cannot take any of the “prescribed actions” against an impacted lessee (such as evicting the tenant, terminating the lease, re-entering the premises, or calling on a security bond or guarantee given by the tenant) due to non-payment of rent or outgoings during the “prescribed period” (ie, 6 months after the commencement date of the Regulation which is 24 April 2020)