lease lawyer Tag

08 Oct

Posted at 21:15h in For Commercial Landlords, Leasing by
0 Likes
There are lots of opportunities for things to go wrong when drafting a lease but, in these three situations the consequences are particularly unpleasant.1. Failure to obtain a personal guarantee. Most leases are signed in the name of a company. If a tenant manages to get a lease in the name of a two dollar company and the requirement for a personal guarantee is forgotten then

12 Jul

Posted at 00:24h in Business Law, For Commercial Tenants by
0 Likes

Almost every commercial lease will provide that before a lease can be assigned, the consent of the landlord must be obtained.   If  you have commercial premises associated with your business there are some very good reasons to make sure that the assignment of the lease is properly handled. We recently acted for a commercial tenant.  This client came to us with a big problem, which had only become obvious to them a year after the date of the sale of their business. The commercial tenant had sold their business a year earlier and had assigned the lease of the business premises to the buyer.  Things did not go smoothly. The landlord set out the conditions upon which consent would be given.

12 Mar

Posted at 18:48h in Business Law, For Commercial Landlords, For Commercial Tenants by
0 Likes
In our last article we described how it is necessary for a Queensland landlord to issue a form 124 notice before taking any steps to retake possession of premises from a tenant who holds those premises under a Queensland Commercial Lease. A commercial tenant will always have the right to apply to the courts for something called "relief against forfeiture".   The relief may be given even if the tenant is in default of the lease and even though the lease specifically provides that the landlord has the right to terminate. Courts have a wide and unfettered discretionary power to take into account all of the circumstances before deciding if the Court will allow a landlord to retake possession from a tenant.  Therefore a landlord may not have the ability to terminate a lease even if the tenant is in default. A tenant cannot claim relief against forfeiture before the landlord has commenced proceedings for possession or has taken possession. If the tenant anticipates that the landlord is making preparation to take possession then the tenant may apply for an injunction.  The tenant may do this once the section 124 notice is served. So how does the court decide if it will grant this "relief against forfeiture"?

24 Jan

Posted at 18:51h in For Commercial Tenants, Leasing by
0 Likes

Do you lease premises for your business? Many business owners do not realize that when they sell their business and assign their lease, they may remain liable to the landlord for many years after the assignment.  If the buyer (the new business owner) can't pay the rent then the landlord may come looking for the previous tenant to cover the loss.  Is that you?

Many leases actually provide that an assignment of the lease does not release the previous tenant from liability to the landlord. Don't despair!  Read to the end of this article where we make reference to some legislation that may assist if you are a retail shop tenant.

23 Jan

Posted at 23:20h in For Commercial Landlords, For Commercial Tenants by
0 Likes

If you are a commercial tenant you probably already know that retail shop tenants have a higher level of protection than do other commercial tenants. A retail shop landlord is restrained from doing certain things.

You may be a retail shop tenant even if you do not operate a retail shop. It is essential that you are able to determine if you are entitled to the benefits of the act. A link to the Retail Shop Leases Act is set out here.

Landlords are not permitted to pass on the cost of preparing a lease to their retail shop tenant.

There are rules about the maximum proportion of outgoings that a landlord can ask a retail shop tenant to pay.

The landlord is restricted in the way that increases in rental can be imposed.

There are other benefits also.