A lease is an agreement between a landlord and a tenant granting rights to a tenant to occupy premises owned by the landlord.

Leases can cover a wide variety of properties including private residences, retail shops as well as commercial and industrial premises. The laws governing the rights and obligations of the parties to a lease can be found in different laws, including the Retail Leases Act 1994, the Real Property Act 1900 and the Residential Tenancies Act 1987, and at Common Law.

Leases for businesses (Retail and Commercial Leases)Leases for business purposes generally fall into one of two categories: Retail Leases and Commercial Leases.

Retail Leases, as the name suggests, relate to leases over retail premises. To answer whether a specific lease is a retail lease or not, it is necessary to refer to the Retail Leases Act. If a lease is governed by the Retail Leases Act there are significant obligations of disclosure on each of the landlord and tenant. A number of other rights and responsibilities arise from the operation of the Retail Leases Act. This can be a complicated area of law for business owners and care must be taken when entering a Retail Lease.

Business Leases that are not covered by the Retail Leases Act are generally referred to as Commercial Leases. Although not covered by a specific statute, Commercial Leases are governed by a large body of law. Whether you are the landlord or tenant, it is imperative to ensure that all necessary considerations are addressed prior to entering a Commercial Lease. Our commercial and property lawyers are experienced in drafting effective commercial leases as well as advising tenants on their rights and responsibilities under a lease.

Commercial Sub-Leases

Both Retail Leases and Commercial Leases can include sub-leases. A sublease is where a tenant leases some or all of the leased premises to a further party, who is called the sub-tenant. Retail subleases are also governed by the Retail Leases Act. Our commercial lawyers can advise you on your rights and responsibilities under a sub-lease.

Licence Agreements

Depending on the circumstances, a Licence rather than a Lease may be granted. This is a lesser right to occupy the premises than granted by a Lease. However, in certain business situations Licences may be appropriate to give effect to the intentions of the parties. Care must be taken to ensure that the terms of a Licence do not in practice have the effect of making the agreement one that is governed by the Retail Leases Act.

Negotiating Lease Terms

As well as advising you on the proposed terms of a commercial or residential lease, the commercial and property lawyers at our firm can also negotiate with the other side to amend, delete or add terms so that the lease works more in your favour. This may include terms such as options to extend a lease at your discretion, lower/higher rental proceeds, restraint of trade clauses and trading hour times. There are an array of issues which you should consider which can be easily overlooked. Our commercial and property lawyers will advise you on all aspects of the proposed lease.

Residential Leases (leases for domestic purposes)

Persons who wish to rent a home must also enter into a lease. These leases are governed by the Residential Tenancies Act which imposes a number of rights and obligations on the parties to a residential lease.

As with business leases, there are a number of other methods of obtaining rights to occupy residential premises, including a sublease, a licence, or as a boarder/lodger. Our commercial and property lawyers are experienced in providing advice as to your rights and responsibilities under a residential lease.