Our lease dispute lawyers can help you understand your rights so you can make the right decision for your business.
Lease breaches
A lease can be breached when one or both parties don’t follow the terms of the lease agreement. Perhaps your tenant hasn’t made their lease payments or your landlord hasn’t completed some essential repairs, every day can cost you money. The first step towards resolving the dispute is to understand what your rights and responsibilities are. You may be able to resolve the issue easily under the terms of your lease or try to negotiate a resolution. In many instances, lease breaches are an isolated issue that can be resolved swiftly without ending the lease.
There may also be several other options available to you like issuing a Notice of Breach, taking your case to the Victorian Small Business Commission (VSBC), the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) or court.
Retail lease disputes
Retail lease disputes can disrupt your business and cost you money. Perhaps you’ve been locked out of your leased building or your tenant hasn’t paid their rent, there are special rules that apply to retail lease disputes. In Victoria, all retail lease disputes must first be mediated by the VSBC. Any party to a retail lease can refer it to the VSBC for mediation. If mediation doesn’t reach a resolution, then the dispute may go to VCAT or court.
Why MNG Lawyers
Our experienced lease dispute lawyers can help you understand your rights and responsibilities and guide you on how you can resolve your dispute quickly. Seeking legal advice early can help you position yourself well and give you options that may help minimise any disruption to your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
The VSBC provides information and guidelines to small businesses about retail lease and commercial disputes. If you have a retail lease dispute, you must allow the VSBC to mediate before you can take the issue to court or to the VCAT. Any party to a retail lease can refer it to VSBC for mediation.
Depending on what your issue is, the VSBC, VCAT or court may be able to do several things to resolve your dispute. This includes ordering someone to pay compensation, correct the terms of the lease or give the landlord possession of their property. In some circumstances, they may also order one person to pay another their costs for bringing the case.
Disputes aren’t always avoidable, but you can minimise disagreements by having a clear lease agreement in place. This should outline all the terms of the arrangement, including how any disputes should be resolved.
A lockout is where a landlord locks the tenant out of the property. This is a drastic action and is usually taken when a tenant doesn’t fix an issue in a notice of breach within a reasonable period of time. To lockout a tenant a special notice must be issued.
If a tenant is locked out, you may be able to get entry to the property by asking the court for an injunction. This may allow you to stay in the property or just enter it to access your things.
Landlords can issue a Notice of Breach to a tenant. Both the lease agreement and the law outline specific ways that a Notice of Breach can be issued and how much time the tenant has to rectify the breach. If the Notice of Breach isn’t done correctly it may need to be done again, delaying the issue further. Before issuing a Notice of Breach, it’s important to consider the consequences for your relationship with the tenant.
Your lease agreement may outline how you can terminate your lease. The law also has certain ways that a lease can and cannot be terminated. If you try to terminate your lease outside these terms you may breach your lease and be open to being sued for damages or loss.