Queensland Consolidated Acts

RETAIL SHOP LEASES ACT 1994 - SECT 39

39 Payment of key money and amount for goodwill prohibited

(1) A person must not, as lessor or for the lessor, under or in relation to a retail shop lease, seek or accept the payment of key money or any amount for the goodwill of the lessee’s business carried on in or from the leased shop.

Penalty—

Maximum penalty—100 penalty units.

(2) However, subsection (1) does not prevent a lessor from—

(a) recovering from the lessee the lessor’s costs reasonably incurred in investigating a proposed assignee of the lessee under a retail shop lease; or

(b) recovering from the lessee the lessor’s reasonable expenses of and incidental to an assignment of a retail shop lease and any necessary consents to the assignment; or

(c) receiving payment of rent in advance if the amount paid is not more than the rent payable for 1 rental period under the lease; or

(d) getting a repayable bond from the lessee to secure the lessee’s obligations under the lease; or

(e) receiving from the purchaser of the lessor’s business conducted in a retail shop payment for the goodwill of the business or the plant, equipment, fixtures or fittings in the retail shop; or

(f) receiving payment from the lessee for amounts spent by the lessor for fitting out the leased shop; or

(g) seeking and accepting payment for the grant of a franchise in relation to the grant of a retail shop lease.

(3) If an amount is paid to, or a benefit accepted by, a person in contravention of subsection (1) , the person who paid or conferred the benefit may recover the amount or value of the benefit as a debt.