Lease guides
Plain-English guides to commercial and retail leases in Australia.
Commercial leases
Do I need to register my lease?
When a commercial lease should be registered on the title, and what happens if it isn't.
Read the guideHeads of agreement for a lease explained
What a heads of agreement covers, whether it binds you and what to check before signing.
Read the guideHow to get out of a commercial lease
The legal ways to end a lease early, and the risks of just walking away.
Read the guideMake good clause explained
What does a make good clause require when your commercial lease ends? What it usually covers, how disputes start and what to check before you sign, in plain English.
Read the guideOutgoings in a commercial lease explained
What outgoings usually include, how your share is worked out and what to check before you sign.
Read the guidePersonal guarantee on a commercial lease explained
What a personal guarantee covers, how long it lasts and the limits you can ask for.
Read the guideRed flags in a commercial lease
The clauses that cost tenants the most, and what to ask for instead.
Read the guideRent review clause explained
How fixed, CPI and market rent reviews work, and which clauses to watch.
Read the guideWhat to include in a commercial lease
The clauses every commercial lease needs, and the extra steps when the lease is retail.
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Retail leases
Commercial lease vs retail lease: what's the difference?
How to tell whether your lease is covered by a retail leases Act, and what that changes.
Read the guideRetail lease laws in Australia by state
Each state's retail leases Act, disclosure period, minimum term, mediation body and tribunal or court in one table.
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Queensland retail shop leases
Do I need a Form 12?
When a Queensland lessee needs a Form 12 legal advice report, and who can sign it.
Read the guideForm 11 vs Form 12
The difference between the financial advice report (Form 11) and the legal advice report (Form 12) in Queensland.
Read the guideForm 7 QLD lease explained
The three Queensland "Form 7"s in leasing, what each one does and when it is used.
Read the guideRetail Shop Leases Act 1994 (Qld) explained
Which Queensland leases the Act covers and the main rules it sets for lessors and lessees.
Read the guideThe 7-day disclosure period in QLD
How the minimum time between disclosure and signing a Queensland retail shop lease works.
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Victorian retail leases
Retail lease minimum term in Victoria
How Victoria's five-year minimum term for retail leases works, and when it can be waived.
Read the guideRetail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) explained
Which Victorian leases the Act covers and the main rules it sets for landlords and tenants.
Read the guideThe 14-day disclosure period in Victoria
How the minimum time between disclosure and signing a Victorian retail lease works.
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NSW retail leases
Retail bond in NSW explained
How cash security bonds under NSW retail shop leases are lodged with NSW Fair Trading and refunded.
Read the guideRetail Leases Act 1994 (NSW) explained
Which NSW leases the Act covers and the main rules it sets for lessors and lessees.
Read the guideThe 3-month lease registration deadline in NSW
When a NSW retail shop lease has to be lodged for registration, and what registration involves.
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