RETAIL AND COMMERCIAL LEASES ACT 1995 - SECT 24
RETAIL AND COMMERCIAL LEASES ACT 1995 - SECT 24
(1) If a
retail shop lease provides for the determination of rent or a component of
rent by reference to turnover, the lease is taken to include provision to the
following effect:
(a) if
the turnover includes amounts realised on sale of items purchased from
customers in the ordinary course of business, those amounts are to be reduced
by the amount of any losses made on the resale or disposal of those items;
(b)
turnover does not include the amount of deposits and instalments received on
account of lay-bys, hire purchase or credit sales, and later refunded to
customers;
(c) if
the proceeds of a transaction have been included as part of turnover but a
refund is later made to the customer, the turnover is reduced by the amount of
the refund;
(d)
turnover does not include the amount of service, finance or interest charges
payable to a financier in connection with provision of credit to customers
(other than commissions on credit or store cards);
(e)
turnover does not include the price of merchandise exchanged between shops of
the lessee if the exchange is made solely for the convenient operation of the
business of the lessee and not for the purpose of concluding a sale made at or
from the shop to which the lease relates;
(f)
turnover does not include the price of merchandise returns to shippers,
wholesalers or manufacturers;
(g)
turnover does not include the proceeds of sale of the lessee's fixtures and
fittings after their use in the conduct of business at or from the retail shop
to which the lease relates;
(h)
turnover does not include the amount of discounts allowed to customers in the
normal course of business;
(i)
turnover does not include the amount of uncollected
credit accounts that are written off;
(j)
turnover does not include the net amount paid or payable by the lessee on
account of any purchase tax, receipt tax, or other similar tax imposed at the
point of retail sale or hire of goods or services;
(k)
turnover does not include the amount of delivery charges;
(l)
turnover does not include the amount received from the sale of lottery tickets
and similar tickets (other than commission on those sales);
(m)
turnover does not include an amount of a prescribed class.
(2) The lease is taken
to provide for underpayments or overpayments of rent (resulting from actual
turnover differing from projected or presumed turnover) to be adjusted within
one month after the lessee requests the lessor in writing for such an
adjustment and provides the lessor with information the lessor reasonably
requires to make the adjustment.
(3) The lessee may
make a request for such an adjustment only once in the first 12 months of the
lease term and thereafter only at intervals of not less than 12 months
following the first request for an adjustment under the lease.
(4)
Subsection (3) does not prevent the lease providing for, or the parties
otherwise agreeing to, more frequent adjustments than are provided for by this
section.
(5) A lessor must not
require a lessee to provide to the lessor information about the lessee's
turnover unless the retail shop lease provides for the determination of rent,
a component of rent or outgoings by reference to turnover.
Maximum penalty: $1 500.
(6) For the purposes
of this section—
"turnover" includes gross takings, gross receipts, gross income and similar
concepts.