Consider this if…
- You are taking office, warehouse or industrial premises
- Your lease is outside the Retail Leases Act and you want to know what that costs you
- You are being asked to pay land tax as an outgoing
- You are being asked for a personal guarantee on top of a bank guarantee
- There is a demolition or relocation clause and you do not know what it means
- You are taking premises you intend to fit out substantially
How it works
Send us the lease
And anything else you have been given — a heads of agreement, an offer to lease, or an email exchange setting out terms. Those often bind more than people expect.
Today
We confirm it is genuinely outside the Act
Worth checking rather than assuming. Some premises people treat as commercial are caught by the Act, and that changes your position substantially in your favour.
First thing we do
We read the lease in full
Rent and reviews, outgoings including land tax, term and options, permitted use, assignment, guarantees, make-good, demolition and relocation, insurance and repair obligations, default and termination.
2–3 business days
You get our view in writing
What you would be committing to, what it is likely to cost across the term rather than per month, and the clauses we would want changed before you sign.
With the review
We negotiate, if you want us to
Quoted separately from the review once we know what we are asking for.
Quoted before we start
Fee
Quoted in writing before we start
GST inclusive
Excludes: Negotiation with the other side is quoted separately from the review.
Cost depends on the length and complexity of the lease. We quote in writing before we start.
Turnaround
Our written view back to you within three business days.
Outside the Act, the lease is everything
A retail tenant has statutory protections that operate whatever the lease says. A commercial tenant does not.
That means no disclosure statement before you sign, no statutory minimum term, no bar on the landlord recovering land tax, no constraint on how rent reviews are drafted, and no statutory dispute process. Everything you have is what you negotiated, and everything you did not negotiate is whatever the landlord's solicitor drafted.
This is not a reason to avoid commercial premises. It is the reason a commercial lease legal review matters more here than it does for a retail tenant, and the reason the negotiation happens before signature or not at all.
Check the classification first
People assume an office or warehouse is automatically outside the Act. Usually that is right. Sometimes it is not — the test turns on the use of the premises, and some businesses that think of themselves as commercial are supplying goods or services in a way that brings them within it.
It is worth thirty minutes to check, because being inside the Act is worth a great deal to a tenant. Our insights piece on whether you are a commercial or retail tenant sets out the tests.
The clauses that decide what this costs
Rent reviews. The review mechanism matters as much as the starting rent. Fixed rent increases compound; a CPI rent review moves with the index; a market rent review can cut either way and usually comes with a ratchet. A mechanism that looks modest in year one can produce a very different number in year seven, and it is worth modelling across the full lease term rather than reading as a percentage.
Term, options and holding over. The initial term, whether there is an option to renew, and how and when it must be exercised — option windows are usually strict, and missing one can end the tenancy. What happens at expiry if neither happens: holding over is usually on whatever terms the lease dictates, and they are rarely the ones you would choose.
Outgoings. In a commercial lease these can be extensive — land tax, building insurance, management fees, repairs and maintenance, and capital expenditure in some drafting. What is recoverable is a matter of drafting, not statute. We look at the total lease cost across the term, not the monthly figure.
Make-good. The obligation to return the premises to a specified condition. For a tenant installing a substantial fit-out this is often the largest single liability in the lease, and it falls due at the end, when the business is already spending money moving.
Demolition and relocation. Whether the landlord can end the lease or move you to redevelop, how much notice you get, and what compensation is payable. A tenant about to spend heavily on premises should price this clause properly.
Guarantees and security. A bank guarantee ties up capital; a security deposit is cash out the door; a personal guarantee removes the protection of trading through a company. All three are negotiable in principle: the amount, the duration, and when the security is released.
Fit-out and landlord works. What the landlord has promised to build or contribute, what you are paying for yourself, and whose risk it is if the works run late. Promises made in the negotiation need to appear in the lease, or they are not promises.
Default and termination. What counts as default, how much notice you get to fix it, and what the landlord can do if you don't. Termination rights are where a commercial tenancy ends, and the detail matters long before anyone is in dispute.
Assignment. What happens if you want to sell the business or leave early. Whether the landlord's consent can be withheld, and whether you stay liable after assigning — because if you do, you have sold the business but kept the lease risk.
What we give you
A written view covering what the lease commits you to, what it is realistically going to cost across the full term rather than per month, the clauses we would want changed, and a plain assessment of the ones you should refuse to sign without. We act for tenants and for landlords, and the review is the same discipline either way.
Then, if you want, we handle the commercial lease negotiation with the other side. Quoted separately, so the advice is useful even if you decide to handle the landlord yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Should I have a commercial lease reviewed before signing?
Yes — and before signing anything else that comes with it, such as a heads of agreement or offer to lease. A commercial lease outside the Retail Leases Act is almost impossible to renegotiate once signed, and the clauses that cost the most — rent reviews, outgoings, guarantees, make-good — are all settled at signing, not afterwards. A review before you sign is the one point where changing them is easy.
What protections do I lose if my lease is not retail?
The ones the Retail Leases Act supplies: a disclosure statement before signing, a statutory minimum term, restrictions on recovering certain outgoings including land tax, constraints on rent review mechanisms, and access to the statutory dispute process. Outside the Act, none of that applies and the lease governs everything.
Can a landlord make me pay land tax?
In a commercial lease outside the Retail Leases Act, generally yes if the lease says so. It is a real cost, it rises with land values, and it is frequently accepted without being priced into the decision. Whether it can be resisted depends on the negotiation rather than on any statutory right.
What happens when a commercial lease expires?
The answer depends on the lease. The tenant may have an option, negotiate a new lease, remain on a holding-over arrangement or need to vacate. The applicable notice and timing requirements should be checked carefully — particularly option dates, which are usually strict.
What is a demolition clause and should I worry about it?
A clause allowing the landlord to end the lease early to redevelop the building. Whether to worry depends on how much notice you get, what compensation is payable, and how much you are about to spend on fit-out. A tenant investing heavily in premises should understand this clause before signing, not after the notice arrives.
Can a landlord terminate a commercial lease?
Potential termination rights depend on the lease, the nature of the default and applicable legislation. Proper notice and procedure are important, and a landlord who has not followed them may not have validly terminated. If you have received a notice, the dates on it matter — tell us straight away.
How much will this lease actually cost me over the term?
More than the rent. Outgoings, land tax where recoverable, the rent review mechanism compounding across the term, fit-out, and make-good at the end. We set out the total commitment rather than the monthly figure, because that is the number the decision should be made on.
Related services
Tell us the date you have been asked to sign by.
Send us the lease