Consider this if…
- You have been locked out of your premises
- You are a landlord considering re-entry after a default notice
- Your goods or stock are inside premises you can no longer access
- You have been told the lease has been terminated and you disagree
- You want to recover possession but are not sure re-entry is safe
- You need to apply for relief against forfeiture
How it works
Call us, then send the documents
The lease, any default notice, whatever the landlord or tenant has said, and the times and dates. Lockouts are time-critical and the first hours matter.
Same business day where we can
We assess the foundation for re-entry
Whether there was a valid breach, a valid notice, an expired remedy period, and whether anything since — such as accepting rent — has undermined the right to re-enter.
First thing we do
We act on the urgent point
For a tenant, a demand for re-admission and, where it is warranted, an urgent application including relief against forfeiture. For a landlord, whether to proceed, hold, or take possession through a court instead.
Quoted before we start
Goods, stock and access
Where a business's goods, records or equipment are inside, recovering access to them is often the most urgent issue of all and can be dealt with separately from the lease question.
As part of the urgent work
Then the underlying dispute
Arrears, damages, the balance of the term and the security. Quoted stage by stage once the urgent position is stabilised.
Quoted stage by stage
Fee
Quoted in writing before we start
GST inclusive
Excludes: Court filing fees, counsel's fees and any other disbursements are extra.
Urgent work is quoted in writing before we start it.
Why this is the most dangerous stage of a leasing dispute
Everything before re-entry is recoverable. Rent can be paid late, breaches can be remedied, notices can be answered. Re-entry is different: a business that cannot open loses trade, staff and customers immediately, and a landlord who re-enters without a sound basis can end up liable for exactly that loss.
Both sides therefore need advice before it happens, not after.
If you have been locked out
Do not force entry. Do not accept, on the strength of a notice taped to the door, that the lease has ended.
Photograph everything and record the time. Keep the notice. Keep every message. Then get advice the same day, because the available responses — a demand for re-admission, an urgent application, an application for relief against forfeiture — all work better early, and delay is held against a tenant who waits.
Two separate questions usually need answering at once: whether you can get back into the premises, and whether you can get your goods, stock and records out. The second is often resolved much faster than the first.
If you are the landlord
Re-entry is only as strong as what sits underneath it. Before the locks change, four things should be settled: there is a breach the lease actually creates; a valid notice was given where one is required; the time allowed has expired; and nothing since — accepting rent, negotiating a payment plan, agreeing a remedy program — has undermined the right to forfeit.
Where any of that is uncertain, recovering possession through a court is slower but sound, and the difference in cost is small next to a wrongful-re-entry claim from a business that says it lost its trade.
There are practical points as well: how the tenant's goods are handled, what notice is given about them, what happens to any security, and whether the landlord intends to claim for the balance of the term or to re-let and mitigate. Each of those affects what can be recovered later.
Relief against forfeiture
Where a lease has been forfeited, a tenant can apply to the court to have it restored, usually on conditions — paying arrears, remedying the breach, and meeting costs. It is discretionary. A tenant who applies immediately, offers to pay what is owed and can show the breach is remediable is in a materially better position than one who waits and argues.
After the urgent stage
Once possession is stabilised, the underlying dispute remains: arrears, damages, the security, and what happens to the rest of the term. That runs on the usual lease dispute path, and how the re-entry was handled shapes it from beginning to end.
Frequently asked questions
I have been locked out. What do I do right now?
Call us before you do anything else, and do not force entry. Photograph the premises and any notice on the door, note the time, and keep every message from the landlord or agent. Whether the lockout was lawful depends on the lease, the notice history and what has happened since, and there are urgent steps available where it was not.
Can a landlord change the locks without going to court?
Leases commonly contain a right of re-entry, and whether it can be exercised without a court order depends on the lease, the nature of the breach, the notice given and the legislation that applies. It is not a free option: a landlord who re-enters without a sound basis can be liable for the loss caused. Get the position confirmed before acting.
What is relief against forfeiture?
It is an application asking a court to restore a lease that has been forfeited, usually on conditions such as paying what is owed and remedying the breach. It is discretionary rather than automatic, and delay counts against an applicant, so it should be pursued promptly.
My stock and equipment are locked inside. Can I get them back?
Often that can be dealt with faster than the lease dispute itself, and sometimes by agreement within a day or two. A landlord is not generally entitled to treat a tenant's goods as security simply because they are in the premises. Tell us what is inside and how urgent it is.
I am a landlord. Is re-entry the right move?
Sometimes, and sometimes recovering possession through a court is the safer route even though it is slower. The question is what foundation you have: a valid breach, a valid notice, an expired remedy period, and no conduct since that undermines the right. If any of those is shaky, the exposure outweighs the speed.
Does accepting rent after the breach change things?
It can. Conduct consistent with the lease continuing may undermine a right to forfeit for an earlier breach. It is one of the first things we check, from both sides, because it frequently decides who is in the stronger position.
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