Page 2770 - Week 09 - Thursday, 25 August 1994

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and have no need for the provisions of the Code or the Bill. As in so many areas of our society, however, when goodwill breaks down there is need for a safety-net and, where disputes do occur between landlords and tenants, the Code and the Bill provide an appropriate means to resolve these disputes.

I understand that the governments original intention regarding this issue was to consult with landlords and tenants with the intent of developing a voluntary code of practice, rather than to enforce a code of practice by legislation. Despite an extremely lengthy process of consultation it has not been possible, I understand, to reach unanimous agreement with, and between, the parties involved and the government has felt compelled to introduce the Bill, and the Code, to the Assembly to ensure adequate protection under the law is achieved for commercial and retail tenants.

This Bill seeks to address this long-standing issue of imbalance of market power in the area of retail and commercial tenancies and to provide solutions to the questions of what should happen when landlords and tenants dispute the provisions of particular tenancies and, further, how tenants

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