Cast your mind back to 2003. Apple launched iTunes and sold one million songs in the first week. Finding Nemo was released in cinemas. The Concorde made its last ever flight from New York to London. And here in Victoria on 1 May 2003, the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) came into effect.

It’s been 20 years since the current version of the retail lease legislation. On the 20-year anniversary of the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) we take this opportunity to highlight how the Legal and Property teams at Essendon Fields ensure compliance and operationalise the legislative requirements to make it part of doing business.

Over the past seven months the Essendon Fields Legal and Property teams have engaged in over 20 hours of professional training in matters relating to retail and commercial leasing variously through Legalwise sessions with leading lawyers, barristers and VCAT members, internal sessions and having external law firm Bespoke Legal present tailored training.

As GM Property Management Joel Rauer cites, it is fundamentally critical to ensure the Retail Leases Act is administered appropriately beginning with adequate understanding of what constitutes a “retail premises” having regard to the rent, premises, use, tenant and rent.

“It is critical to establish this during initial stages of a negotiation to ensure that you are achieving the best outcome for the Landlord and / or Tenant you are representing,” Mr Rauer notes.

Essendon Fields is fortunate to have a highly competent and diverse team that shares knowledge and bring a variety of public and private experience to their work here on site. To ensure processes are continually improved, the Legal and Property teams are also developing new tools and reviewing existing resources to ensure best practice.

Property Manager Yvon Del Mundo has worked in commercial property for over a decade, and believes proactive efforts to not only thoroughly understand the Act and its clauses, but to also keep up to date with any new precedents is essential.

“Since we work in a dynamic industry, we need to make an effort to equip ourselves with knowledge of the most recent leasing law updates and VCAT decisions, to help protect our stakeholders in various circumstances. I am happy that the Essendon Fields team shares this opinion with me, and is committed to regularly reviewing our processes and promoting continuous learning for all team members,” Ms Del Mundo notes.

Senior Property Manager Tammy Watson is particularly interested in the Victorian Civil & Administrative Tribunal, where retail and commercial tenants have the opportunity to present their retail tenancy disputes. The Tribunal has jurisdiction to hear and determine retail tenancy disputes under section 89 of the Retail Leases Act 2003. As Ms Watson notes, going to VCAT is something that we all try our best to avoid, and negotiating with Tenants to ensure that any grievances are addressed and actioned to avoid going to the Tribunal is usually the best course of action.

However, in her extensive career in previous businesses, Ms Watson has experienced misrepresentation claims against a landlord being brought to VCAT, the majority of which have come from the development of a property.

“Transparency, accuracy and quality documentation are an important protection in instances where there are claims that the landlord has made a false statement or material omission made with the intent to deceive or mislead another party,” says Ms Watson.

Alongside a learning culture, Essendon Fields keenly focuses on maintaining and growing a strong network of property professionals including leading agents, lawyers, accredited specialists and academics. A focus of the Legal and Property teams are further to ensure we are well represented on industry bodies, particularly the Property Council of Australia – Victorian division Committees – with Ms Del Mundo a member of the Commercial Leases Committee and Mr Rauer a member of the Future Directions Committee. Furthermore General Council Stacey Pettit is a member of the Retail Committee, CEO Brendan Pihan is a member of the Precincts Committee and Planning Manager Brad Evans sits on the Planning and Infill Committee.  This commitment helps to contribute to the industry, and enables these team members to bring external industry insights back into the Essendon Fields business, and we thank them for making this investment.

View our property team here, or you can email them at property@ef.com.au with any queries.