New South Wales Consolidated Acts

RETAIL LEASES ACT 1994 - SECT 41A

41A Protection of assignor of lease for ongoing business

(1) A person (the
"assignor" ) who assigns a retail shop lease in connection with the continued use of the shop for the conduct of an ongoing business has no liability to the lessor in respect of amounts payable under the lease by the assignee after the lease is assigned if the lessee complies with the requirements of this section.

(2) The assignor must, at least 7 days before the assignment of lease--

(a) provide the assignee with an
"updated lessor's disclosure statement" (comprising a copy of the lessor's disclosure statement given to the assignor in respect of the lease together with details of any changes that have occurred in respect of the information contained in that disclosure statement since it was given to the assignor), and

(b) provide the assignee with an assignor's disclosure statement in or to the effect of the form set out in Part A of Schedule 2A, and

(c) provide the lessor with a copy of the assignor's disclosure statement (as provided to the assignee for the purposes of paragraph (b)) together with a document signed by the assignor and assignee that is in or to the effect of the form set out in Part B of Schedule 2A (the
"disclosure confirmation" ).

(3) For the purpose of enabling the lessee to provide the proposed assignee with the required updated lessor's disclosure statement, the lessor must provide the lessee with an updated lessor's disclosure statement within 14 days after being requested to do so by the lessee, but if the lessor fails to do so--

(a) it is sufficient compliance with the requirement to provide the proposed assignee with an updated lessor's disclosure statement if the lessee instead provides a lessor's disclosure statement completed by the lessee to the best of the lessee's knowledge (but with information as to current outgoings in place of information as to estimated outgoings), and

(b) the assignor and assignee can sign the disclosure confirmation on the basis that the lessor's disclosure statement completed and provided by the lessee constitutes the updated lessor's disclosure statement.

(4) The protection from liability afforded by this section to the assignor extends to any guarantor or covenantor of the assignor.

(5) The assignor (and any guarantor or covenantor of the assignor) is not entitled to the protection of this section if the assignor's disclosure statement contains information that is materially false or misleading.