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( 07 3054 3125 |
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Property
Business Estates |
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T +61
7 3054 3125 F +61
7 3054 3127 GPO Box 1372 Brisbane Qld 4001 Level 4 180 Queen Street Brisbane Qld
4000
ABN
74 392 211 208 Liability
limited by a scheme approved under professional standards legislation. |
Market rent review gone bad? Warren Wackerling
and Jodie Burnett – 25 August 2015 Introduction Market rent reviews can be a nightmare, but even moreso can
be missing a critical date and losing an opportunity to challenge a
landlord’s proposed market rent review. The Facts On a market rent review, the landlord’s notice proposed a
22% increase of rent, amounting to more than a $230,000 annual rent increase
(Landlord’s Notice). The Landlord’s Notice complied with
provisions in their lease however, the tenant failed to respond with a notice
disputing the landlord’s proposed market rent within the time required but
did give a notice outside the time permitted under the lease. To the tenant’s detriment, its dispute notice proposing a
lower market rental was not accepted by the landlord as it was given out of
time. The tenant sought declaration of the Court that the
Landlord’s Notice was ineffective on several grounds including it did not
advise the tenant of a right to obtain its own assessment, nor did it advise
the tenant of consequences if the tenant failed to obtain its own assessment,
including that the landlord’s proposed market rent would be deemed to be the market
rent. The Landlord successfully upheld
its own proposed market rent review relying on its compliance with the terms
of the lease in response to the tenant’s arguments. The Court determined the Landlord’s Notice was ‘entirely fit for purpose, and the tenant’s
arguments about its alleged defects or shortcomings are without merit.’ What do I need to be careful about? As a tenant, you must be aware of steps necessary to
challenge and landlord’s proposed market rent review and act within what are often,
very short timeframes. Important dates must be noted to the decision makers,
including time to prepare and time to respond to tasks, eg. market rent
review dates, market rent review requests prior to exercise of option and
just as important any date for exercise of an option to renew. Be prepared early for any upcoming market rent review or options to renew and
start the conversation early which may avoid late panic. Fail to plan, you plan to fail. Download the decision here. This article is for general
information only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for specific
legal advice.
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