On 4 April 2011, amendments were made to the Retail Shop Leases Act 1994 (“Act”) that can greatly benefit Retail Shop Lease holders when they renew their lease or enter into a new lease. Section 36A(2) was inserted into the Act and makes “ratchet clauses” in a Retail Shop Leases void.
Most Retail Pharmacies in Australia have the right to occupy and operate from the leased premises pursuant to a Lease document. When a purchaser enters into a contract to purchase a retail pharmacy business they are required to either accept an assignment of an existing lease or negotiate and sign a new Lease with the
Nearly all Pharmacy businesses operate under a Lease and throughout Australia those Leases are predominately if not always Retail Shop Leases which are governed by various State based legislative Retail Shop Lease Acts.