Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Act 1985 (WA) Statutory Review 2022

The Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Act 1985 (WA) (CT Act) is required to be reviewed every five years. This consultation forms part of the current review process

Status: Open, closing date 8 August 2022

If you are a commercial landlord, tenant or any other interested stakeholder we need your views and opinions on the operation of the commercial tenancy laws.

A consultation paper and short survey have been prepared to collect your feedback on key issues to determine whether the CT Act is operating effectively to protect small retail businesses and promote fair lease agreements while being flexible enough to respond to a changing retail market.

Your feedback will be used by Consumer Protection to advise Government about the effectiveness of the CT Act and whether there is a need for reform.

Key considerations of the review

The retail industry in Western Australia is characterised by a mix of small businesses and large businesses participating as landlords and tenants. This mix can sometimes lead to an imbalance in bargaining power and inequitable leasing arrangements.

One of the key objectives of the CT Act is to address this imbalance by providing for greater transparency and fairness in lease agreements for small retail businesses. To find out whether the CT Act is achieving this objective while still being flexible enough to accommodate changes in the marketplace, the review will consider whether the CT Act:

• addresses imbalances in bargaining power
• maintains viability for landlords and tenants
• accommodates the diversity of the sector and an ever changing retail marketplace
• promotes fair contract terms.

The issues being addressed include:

• leases covered by the CT Act
• minimum five year lease terms
• disclosure requirements
• lease costs
• first right of refusal
• early termination due to severe financial hardship
• trading hours
• dispute resolution
• unconscionable conduct
• impact of COVID-19 and other issues.

Have your say

Written submissions

Your written feedback can be submitted by:

• By mail:  Commercial Tenancy Review
  Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
  (Consumer Protection Division)
  Locked Bag 100 East Perth WA 6892
• By email    

After the consultation closing date, all responses may be made publicly available on Consumer Protection’s website. Please note that as your feedback forms part of a public consultation process, the Government may quote from your responses in future publications. If you prefer your name to remain confidential, please indicate this in your submission. As all submissions to this paper will be subject to freedom of information requests, please do not include any personal or confidential information that you do not wish to become publicly available.

Enquiries

Enquiries can be made by calling Consumer Protection Advice Line on 1300 30 40 54 or by email.

More information

• Commercial Tenancy
• Commercial tenancy information for landlords and tenants
• Commercial tenancies - COVID-19 response