Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) Subject to
subsection (2), a provision in a retail shop lease to the effect that the
landlord or a person claiming through him is entitled to, or may require from
the tenant —
(a)
key-money; or
(b) any
consideration in respect of the goodwill of the business,
is void.
(1a) Without limiting
subsection (1), where a retail shop lease provides to the effect that the
landlord or a person claiming through him is entitled to or may require from
the tenant money or any other benefit in consideration of —
(a) a
rent under the lease which is lower than the rent which would otherwise be
payable; or
(b) a
future reduction in rent payable under the lease,
that money or other
benefit is to be taken to be key-money for the purposes of subsection (1)
unless the landlord or person claiming through him proves otherwise.
(2)
Subsection (1) or (1a) shall not be construed so as to make void a
provision in a retail shop lease for the landlord to receive or recover from
the tenant —
(a) any
sum that the tenant has agreed to pay to the landlord in respect of the
goodwill of a business carried on by the landlord in the retail shop concerned
immediately before the lease was entered into;
(b)
expenses reasonably incurred by the landlord in investigating a proposed
assignee of the tenant or sub-lessee of the premises; or
(c) fair
and reasonable expenses of the landlord in respect of the drawing up of or the
obtaining of necessary consents to the lease, an assignment of the lease or a
sub-lease of the premises.
(3) Any amount paid or
the value of any benefit conferred by a person under a provision of a lease
that is void by reason of subsection (1) or (1a) may be recovered by that
person from the person to whom the amount was paid or on whom the benefit was
conferred upon an application to the Tribunal for an order that the money
sought be paid or in a court of competent jurisdiction as a debt due.
[Section 9 amended by No. 48 of 1990
s. 6; No. 55 of 2004 s. 119.]