On 11 March 2020 the High Court delivered a decision in Australian Securities and Investments Commission v King [2020] HCA 4.  It related to whether an individual who was not a director,…

You are generally prohibited from charging lease preparation costs in relation to a lease that falls within the scope of the Retail Leases Act 1994 (NSW).  However, the general prohibition does not…

If you own or operate a small business, and COVID-19 has impacted your annual turnover to be less than $10 million per year, then you may be able to restructure…

Many people say “don’t go into business with your friends”. For some it works out, and a successful business is established but for many others, it ends the friendship. A…

When there are 2 owners of a property and only one occupies the property it often seems unfair that the non-occupying owner cannot charge an occupation fee.   However, generally speaking…

If you are declared bankrupt, most of your assets vest in the trustee in bankruptcy. That means you cease to own these assets. The trustee will sell assets to repay…

We recently reported on a decision of the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) which held that a by-law imposing a blanket ban on pet ownership was invalid under the Strata Schemes Management…

It is not unusual for a group of people (whether it be two or more) to form a syndicate for the purposes of purchasing a property as an investment.  Usually…

Have you bought a property with someone or thinking about buying a property with someone as an investment? Buying a property can be a very stressful but exciting time, particularly…

The NSW Government has made amendments to the Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Amendment Regulation 2020 (NSW).The most notable amendment was that an “impacted lessee” must now provide the landlord with:…

It is a standard provision in most commercial and retail leases that a tenant obtain the landlord’s prior written consent before undertaking any alternation or fit-out works.  It is also…

It is standard practice that many commercial leasing provisions requiring the landlord’s consent be qualified on the basis that the landlord must not “unreasonably withhold” its consent. However, what constitutes…

Although it is now some years old, a 2017 Supreme Court decision highlights the need for careful attention to applicable legislation and regulation when a party (in this example, a…

A recent decision of the NSW Supreme involving the hacking of a real estate agents email, serves as a timely reminder of the need to remain vigilante against cyber fraud…

A landlord would be forgiven for believing that it has an absolute right to terminate a commercial tenancy without repercussion in circumstances where the tenant has failed to attend to…

In the matter of Pericles and Hopman (9 June 2020) the husband sought to re-open his case to adduce fresh evidence - purportedly to support the argument that the Australian economy is experiencing…

In an unexpected development, on 25 August the NSW Legislative Council (Upper House) passed an amendment during a debate on strata laws which would prevent strata schemes from passing by-laws…

Eligible commercial tenants will have greater certainty through the coming months with the Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation to be extended until 31 December 2020. Tenants will be required…

Section 18 of the Duties Act can be utilised in the event that a property is purchased by a party who subsequently realises that it would be more favourable if…