Form 12 Retail Shop Lease
Before you enter a retail shop lease in Queensland, you usually need to give the landlord a lawyer's report on the lease (Form 12) and an accountant's report (Form 11). We advise you on the lease and sign the Form 12.
- Fixed fee, including the signed Form 12.
- Written advice on the lease before you sign.
- Online, wherever you are. No need to come in.
What is Form 12?
Under section 22D of the Retail Shop Leases Act 1994 (Qld), a prospective tenant must give the landlord two reports before entering a retail shop lease: a legal advice report and a financial advice report. The same applies to an incoming tenant before an assignment.
The legal advice report is the approved Form 12. Your lawyer signs it to confirm they have advised you about the lease. Landlords and their agents usually ask for it as part of the signing process.
The financial advice report is the approved Form 11. A qualified accountant signs it, and it deals with the financial side of the business. You need both reports, not one or the other. We sign the Form 12. Your accountant signs the Form 11. See Form 11 vs Form 12 for how the two fit together.
When you may not need one
The reports aren’t needed if you lease 5 or more retail shops in Australia, or if the lease is for 6 months or less. A franchisee who occupies the shop under a licence from the franchisor, where the franchisor holds the lease, also doesn’t need them. A franchisee who signs the lease, takes a sublease or takes an assignment usually does. A periodic tenancy is also outside the rule. The Act has no express exemption for renewals.
You can’t waive the reports. The “waiver notice” in the Act only waives the 7-day timing for the landlord’s disclosure statement, and you still need a legal advice report that covers it.
We tell you whether the reports are needed for your lease. If they aren’t, we can still advise you on the lease before you sign.
What we do
We review the lease and the landlord’s disclosure statement and send you written advice. We look at:
- rent, rent reviews and incentives
- outgoings and your share of them
- the term and any options to renew
- make good and fit-out obligations
- the personal guarantee and any bank guarantee or bond
- assignment, subletting and relocation clauses
We also check the landlord gave you the lessor disclosure statement and the proposed lease at least 7 days before you are due to enter the lease. If it is late or doesn’t match the lease, we tell you what that means.
Once we have advised you and answered your questions, we sign the Form 12.
Questions
Something else? Enquire online or email us.
Can the landlord's lawyer sign my Form 12?
It shouldn't. The report must come from a lawyer who has advised you, and the lawyer must declare any relationship with the landlord on the form. The Act also says the landlord can't make you use or pay for a lawyer it nominates.
Can I sign the lease and get the Form 12 later?
The Act requires you to give the report to the landlord before you enter the lease. If the landlord wants the lease signed first, tell us and we'll advise you on the order of steps.
Need a Form 12 signed?
Send us the lease and the disclosure statement and we'll tell you the next step.
- Fixed fees.
- Online, Australia-wide.
- Landlords and tenants.