Statute Details
- Title: Lease Agreements for Retail Premises Regulations 2023
- Act Code / S-Number: LARPA2023-S708-2023; S 708/2023
- Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Enacting Authority: Minister for Trade and Industry
- Authorising Act: Lease Agreements for Retail Premises Act 2023
- Commencement: 1 February 2024
- Current Version Status: Current version as at 27 Mar 2026
- Key Provisions (as per extract): Sections 1–3 (citation/commencement; prescribed periods for declarations and complaints)
- Made Date: 31 October 2023
What Is This Legislation About?
The Lease Agreements for Retail Premises Regulations 2023 (“Regulations”) are subsidiary legislation made under the Lease Agreements for Retail Premises Act 2023 (“Act”). In plain terms, the Regulations do not create a new leasing regime from scratch. Instead, they operationalise specific procedural timelines that the Act requires parties to follow when dealing with certain compliance mechanisms under retail leasing law.
Retail leasing arrangements often involve complex commercial terms and multiple stakeholders (landlords, tenants, and sometimes settlement arrangements). The Act introduces compliance concepts and dispute-handling pathways. The Regulations are focused on two practical steps that can determine whether a party can participate effectively in the compliance framework: (1) when a party must submit a declaration of permitted deviation, and (2) when a party must file a complaint of non-compliance with an authorised dispute resolution body.
Accordingly, the Regulations are best understood as a “time rules” instrument. They specify how many days parties have to act after certain trigger events—such as signing of a lease agreement or, in some cases, signing of a settlement agreement. For practitioners, these prescribed periods are critical because missing a deadline can affect whether a declaration or complaint is valid or procedurally admissible.
What Are the Key Provisions?
1. Citation and commencement (Regulation 1)
Regulation 1 provides the short title and commencement date. The Regulations are cited as the “Lease Agreements for Retail Premises Regulations 2023” and come into operation on 1 February 2024. For legal practice, this matters for determining whether the prescribed timelines apply to lease agreements signed before or after commencement, and for assessing compliance with the Act’s procedural requirements.
2. Prescribed period for submission of declaration of permitted deviation (Regulation 2)
Regulation 2 is the core provision for declarations. It sets a 14-day prescribed period for submitting a declaration of permitted deviation, but it distinguishes between two contexts under the Act:
(a) Declarations tied to lease agreements
For the purposes of section 6(3)(a) of the Act, the prescribed period is 14 days after the date the lease agreement is signed by the landlord and the tenant.
(b) Declarations tied to settlement agreements
For the purposes of sections 23(4)(a) and 24(4)(a) of the Act, the prescribed period is also 14 days after the date the settlement agreement is signed by the parties.
Practical implications: The Regulations require close attention to the “trigger date” and the “counting window.” The trigger is expressly the date of signing (lease agreement or settlement agreement, as applicable). Practitioners should therefore confirm the exact signing date (including whether the agreement is signed on the same day by both parties or on different dates, and how the “date the lease agreement is signed by the landlord and the tenant” is evidenced). In practice, parties often sign on different days; the provision’s wording suggests the relevant date is when the agreement has been signed by both landlord and tenant. Where there is uncertainty, contemporaneous execution records and signature pages become important evidence.
3. Prescribed period for filing complaint of non-compliance (Regulation 3)
Regulation 3 sets the deadline for filing complaints of non-compliance with an authorised dispute resolution body. The prescribed period is 14 days after the relevant trigger event, with different triggers depending on the type of alleged non-compliance.
For the purposes of section 9(2)(a) of the Act, a complaint of non-compliance must be filed within 14 days after:
(a) Alleged non-compliance with a leasing principle under section 2(4)(a) or (b) of the Act
The deadline runs from the date the lease agreement is signed by the landlord and the tenant.
(b) Alleged non-compliance with a leasing principle under section 2(4)(c) or (d) of the Act
The deadline runs from the date of the alleged non-compliance with the leasing principle.
Practical implications: This is a significant procedural distinction. For some categories of alleged non-compliance, time starts at signing of the lease agreement; for others, time starts at the occurrence of the alleged breach/non-compliance event itself. Practitioners should carefully map the alleged facts to the correct leasing principle category under section 2(4) of the Act. Misclassification could lead to an incorrect deadline and potential procedural challenge.
Additionally, Regulation 3 requires filing with an authorised dispute resolution body. Lawyers should confirm which body is authorised for the relevant dispute category and ensure that the complaint is filed in the required manner and within the 14-day window. Even where substantive rights exist, procedural non-compliance can undermine the ability to obtain relief.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Regulations are structured as a short instrument with three regulations:
Regulation 1 sets out the citation and commencement date (1 February 2024).
Regulation 2 prescribes the 14-day period for submitting a declaration of permitted deviation, both for lease agreements and for settlement agreements (with cross-references to specific sections of the Act).
Regulation 3 prescribes the 14-day period for filing complaints of non-compliance with an authorised dispute resolution body, again with cross-references to different leasing principles and different trigger events.
Notably, the Regulations do not themselves define “permitted deviation,” “leasing principles,” or the substantive compliance framework. Those concepts are located in the Act. The Regulations function as a procedural companion: they specify when certain steps must be taken under the Act’s substantive scheme.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Regulations apply to parties involved in retail lease agreements within the scope of the Lease Agreements for Retail Premises Act 2023. In practical terms, this includes landlords and tenants who sign lease agreements for retail premises, and parties to settlement agreements that fall within the Act’s compliance and dispute framework.
Because the Regulations also refer to filing complaints with an authorised dispute resolution body, they affect persons who wish to raise non-compliance under the Act. This may include the tenant (or landlord) depending on who alleges a breach of the relevant leasing principles. Lawyers should treat the deadlines as applying to the party who is required (or chooses) to submit the declaration or file the complaint, and should advise clients accordingly at the earliest stage of negotiation, execution, or dispute.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
Although the Regulations are brief, they are legally consequential. The Act’s compliance mechanisms depend on timely procedural actions. By prescribing a strict 14-day period for both declarations and complaints, the Regulations create a clear compliance timetable that can determine whether a party can participate in the Act’s processes.
From an enforcement and risk-management perspective, the Regulations encourage parties to act quickly after key events—particularly after signing a lease agreement. For landlords and tenants, this means that compliance review should not be left until after execution. Instead, counsel should consider implementing internal checklists to identify whether a declaration of permitted deviation is required and to document the signing date and any relevant circumstances.
From a dispute perspective, Regulation 3’s dual trigger approach (signing date for some leasing principles; alleged non-compliance date for others) is a common litigation battleground. Practitioners should expect arguments about (i) which leasing principle category applies, (ii) what constitutes the “date of the alleged non-compliance,” and (iii) whether the complaint was filed within 14 days with the authorised dispute resolution body. Early factual development and careful legal classification are therefore essential.
Related Legislation
- Lease Agreements for Retail Premises Act 2023 (authorising Act; contains the substantive leasing principles, permitted deviation framework, and dispute mechanisms referenced in the Regulations)
- Legislation Timeline (to confirm the correct version and commencement status for the applicable period)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Lease Agreements for Retail Premises Regulations 2023 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.