The Australian Bureau of Statistics yesterday released the Consumer Price Index figures for the September 2011 quarter (for the period July to September 2011).

Landlords may wish to:

• check their leases to see whether a CPI rent review is due; and
• if a rent review is due, apply the correct index number for that review.

Here, partner Meryl Snow highlights the key areas of interest for landlords.

Key areas of interest for landlords

This CPI figure is likely to apply to leases which are up for rent review in October, November or December 2011, where the index relevant is that most recently published at the time of the review.

The new All Groups Index number for Brisbane for the September quarter is 184.7. This is an increase of 0.3 percent (or 0.6 index points) over the June 2011 quarter, which was 184.1. The September 2010 quarter was 179.1, so the new index represents an increase of 3.1 percent (or 5.6 index points) over the corresponding quarter for the previous year.

When comparing CPI increases for the capital cities since the previous quarter, the CPI rose in all capital cities. The highest positive movement for the quarter was Adelaide (1.0 percent) and Hobart (0.8 percent).

In Brisbane, the most significant increase was in the recreation and culture group, which is mainly attributable to the increased cost of travel and accommodation. Decreases were recorded in Brisbane in both the health group and for pharmaceutical products.

A detailed breakdown of CPI figures is available at the Australian Bureau of Statistics website.

For more information about applying CPI figures to your leases, please contact HopgoodGanim's Commercial and Retail Leasing team.

James Bottomley, Partner
Tel 07 3024 0373
j.bottomley@hopgoodganim.com.au

Meryl Snow, Partner
Tel  07 3024 0372
m.snow@hopgoodganim.com.au

To read other articles written by our Commercial and Retail Leasing team, please click here.