Gold Coast Commercial & Retail Lease Lawyers
Commercial and retail leases, done right for landlords and tenants
Signing, renewing or granting a lease? We review and negotiate the terms, prepare retail disclosure, handle options, assignments and make good, and resolve disputes. Led by Simon Bennett, a QLS Accredited Specialist in Property Law.
Prefer to talk? Call (07) 5555 0000
What we do for tenants and landlords
We act for both sides of retail, office and industrial leases, from the first draft to the end of the term.
For tenants
- Review and negotiate the lease before you sign, including rent reviews and outgoings
- Check the landlord’s disclosure statement for a retail lease
- Give the legal advice report a retail tenant needs before signing
- Diarise your option dates and exercise your option on time
- Assign or sublet the lease when you sell or move your business
- Manage make good and the return of your bank guarantee
For landlords
- Prepare leases for retail, office and industrial premises
- Prepare your retail disclosure statement and draft lease
- Set up rent reviews, outgoings and security that comply with the law
- Respond to requests to assign or sublet within the time allowed
- Issue breach notices and manage defaults properly
- Update your lease templates for the Property Law Act 2023
In a dispute with your landlord or tenant? We act in lease disputes too. Property disputes
Property Law Act 2023
Lease rules that changed on 1 August 2025
Queensland’s Property Law Act 2023 brought in new rules for commercial and retail leases. Some apply to leases signed before it started.
What landlords and tenants should know
- Consent to assign, sublet or change the use can’t be unreasonably withheld, and the landlord must decide, with reasons, within 1 month
- Before ending a lease for breach, the landlord must give a notice to remedy in the approved form (Form 7)
- A tenant who stays on after the lease ends can be given 20 business days’ notice, unless you’ve agreed otherwise
- For leases signed from 1 August 2025, assigning the lease can release the original tenant and guarantor
- Tenants
- We check your rights before you assign, sublet or respond to a breach notice.
- Landlords
- We update your leases and notices so they work under the new Act.
What to check before you sign a lease
A lease commits you for years, so the details matter. These are the terms we check first.
- Term and optionsDiarise the dates
- Missing an option date can mean losing the option. For a retail lease, the landlord must remind you 2 to 6 months before it, but the Act sets no consequence if they don’t, so keep your own diary.
- Rent and reviewsOne method per review
- In a retail lease, each review uses a single method. Clauses that stop the rent falling, or let one side choose the method, are void. Fixed increases are allowed.
- OutgoingsOnly what the lease says
- In a retail lease, outgoings are payable only if the lease specifies them, and land tax can never be passed on. You’re entitled to an estimate and an audited statement each year.
- SecurityBond or bank guarantee
- The lease sets the amount and when it’s returned. For a retail lease, rent in advance is limited to one rental period.
- Make goodAt the end of the lease
- Know what you must restore when you leave, and negotiate it now. The new Act also caps some damages claims for repairs.
- RegistrationLeases over 3 years
- An unregistered lease is still valid, but a new owner or mortgagee may not be bound by a lease over 3 years unless it’s registered.
Retail or commercial lease?
If the Retail Shop Leases Act 1994 applies, tenants get extra protection and landlords have extra obligations. It’s the first thing we check.
| Compare | Retail shop lease | Other commercial lease |
|---|---|---|
| When it applies | Premises used mainly for a listed retail business, or in a shopping centre of 5 or more retail shops; not shops over 1,000 m² | Offices, warehouses, industrial sites and other premises outside the Act |
| Disclosure | The landlord gives a disclosure statement and the draft lease at least 7 days before signing | No statutory disclosure |
| Landlord’s legal costs | Can’t be charged to the tenant for preparing the lease | As the lease and the parties agree |
| Rent reviews | One method per review; no clauses that stop the rent falling | As the lease says |
| Disputes | Mediation through the Queensland Small Business Commissioner, then QCAT | Negotiation, then the courts or as the lease provides |
Simon Bennett Partner, QLS Accredited Specialist (Property Law)Who looks after your lease
Leases are handled by our property team, led by Simon Bennett, a Queensland Law Society Accredited Specialist in Property Law, who acts for landlords and tenants in commercial and industrial leasing. Associates Mathew Parker and Erlinda Nunn work with him on leases.
Associate, property law
Associate, property and commercial
What our clients say
Commercial lease FAQs
Answers to the questions tenants and landlords ask us most.
Popular guides
It isn’t compulsory, but a lease can commit you for years. For a retail lease, a tenant who isn’t a major lessee must also give the landlord legal and financial advice reports before signing.
Usually by agreeing a surrender with the landlord, by assigning the lease to a new tenant, or under a break clause if the lease has one. Since 1 August 2025, a landlord can’t unreasonably refuse consent to an assignment. Walking away can leave you liable for rent and damages, so get advice first.
A lease of premises used mainly for a retail business listed in the regulation, or of a shop in a retail shopping centre. Shops over 1,000 m² are excluded. These leases get extra protection under the Retail Shop Leases Act 1994.
A promise from your bank to pay the landlord up to a set amount if you default, used instead of a cash bond. The lease sets the amount and when it’s returned.
The building’s running costs, such as council rates, insurance and cleaning, that a lease passes on to the tenant. In a retail lease they’re payable only if the lease specifies them, and land tax can’t be passed on.
Only as the lease allows, or for a serious breach. Since 1 August 2025, the landlord must first give a notice to remedy in the approved form and allow a reasonable time to fix the breach.
Within the window the lease sets; missing it can mean losing the option. For a retail lease, the landlord must remind you 2 to 6 months before the option date, but don’t rely on it.
Most start with mediation through the Queensland Small Business Commissioner. If that doesn’t resolve it, the dispute can go to QCAT.
If it runs for more than 3 years, usually yes. An unregistered lease is still valid, but a new owner or mortgagee may not be bound by it.
Signing, renewing or granting a lease? Talk to us first
Or call (07) 5555 0000
