Rent is one of the biggest costs in any retail business. It is also one of the most misunderstood. I have seen newsagents and other small business retailers accept rent increases they did not have to accept because nobody told them they had options.
That stops here.
You have legal rights. Most small business retailers don’t use them.
Every state in Australia has a retail leases act. These laws exist to protect small retail tenants. They set out what a landlord can and cannot do during a lease term, how rent reviews work, and what happens at renewal.
In April 2025, the Victorian Supreme Court confirmed that CPI-based rent caps under the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) are legally enforceable. If your lease in Victoria provides for CPI-capped rent reviews, your landlord cannot demand an increase above CPI during that lease term. They cannot declare that the market has moved and expect you to pay more.
That is significant. If you are in Victoria and your landlord has been pushing increases that outrun your lease provisions, you have grounds to push back.
State by state (a brief version)
Victoria has relatively strong tenant protections. The Victorian Small Business Commission (vsbc.vic.gov.au) can assist with retail lease disputes and offers free mediation. I’ve used them, with success.
NSW has the Retail Leases Act 1994. Rent reviews are regulated and market rent determinations can be formally contested. NSW Fair Trading (fairtrading.nsw.gov.au) is a starting point.
Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia each have their own legislation. Western Australia is the least prescriptive, retailers there may need to lean harder on what is actually written in their lease.
Know which state you are in and which act applies.
Lease term vs renewal — this distinction matters
Rent cap protections typically apply during the lease term. When the lease is up for renewal or you are negotiating a new one, the landlord can propose market rent. Market rent sounds objective. It is not. It is a figure someone made up and called market.
You can contest a market rent determination. In most states there is a formal process. An independent valuer can be brought in. If you think the number is wrong, you do not have to accept it.
Know your options before you are sitting across from the landlord’s agent in the final weeks before your lease expires. At that point you have very little time and very little power. Six months out, you have both.
What to read in your lease before your next renewal
Read the rent review clause. Find the mechanism, CPI, fixed percentage, market review, or a combination. If it says CPI and your landlord is asking for more, ask them to explain the discrepancy in writing.
Read the options clause. Options do not exercise themselves. There are usually notice periods. Miss the window and you may lose the option entirely.
Read the assignment clause. This matters if you ever want to sell. Some leases make assignment nearly impossible without landlord consent at their discretion. That affects the value of your business.
Get the right professional
Going into a lease negotiation or renewal, get a retail lease specialist lawyer involved. Not a general commercial solicitor who does a bit of everything. The difference in outcome can be worth tens of thousands of dollars over a lease term.
My view
I have watched small business retailers hand back margin to landlords they did not have to hand back. Not because the law required it. Because they were not sure of their rights, or they were worried about damaging the relationship, or they simply accepted what the landlord’s agent put in front of them.
The lease is a negotiation. Every clause in it was put there by someone for a reason, usually the landlord’s. You are allowed to push back.
Know what is in your lease. Know what the law says. Find out before your next renewal. Not after.
…
Mark Fletcher founded newsagency software company Tower Systems and is the CEO of newsXpress, a marketing group serving innovative independent retailers who continuously evolve their businesses to be enjoyable, relevant and successful. You can reach him on mark@newsxpress.com.au or 0418 321 338.