The Australian Bureau of Statistics has today released the Consumer Price Index figures for the December 2010 quarter (October - December 2010).

Landlords may wish to:

• Check their leases to see whether a CPI rent review is due this quarter; and
• If a rent review is due, apply the correct index number for that review.

This CPI edition is likely to apply to leases which are up for rent review in January, February and March 2011.

CPI information

The All Groups Index number for Brisbane is currently 180, an increase of 0.5 percent (or 0.9 index points) over the September 2010 quarter, which was 179.1. The December 2009 quarter figure was 174.7, so the new figure represents an increase of 3.03 percent (or 5.3 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 except for Darwin (-0.1 percent). The highest positive movement was Melbourne (+0.6 percent) followed by Brisbane (+0.5 percent) and Canberra (+0.5 percent).

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

Alison Wilckens, Solicitor
Tel 07 3024 0431
a.wilckens@hopgoodganim.com.au