Lawyers Who Understand Lease Renewals

Following the exercise of an option to renew by a tenant, it is the landlord’s responsibility to ensure that new lease documentation is provided promptly.

Our lawyers assist landlords with lease renewals and carefully examine the current lease and prepare a deed of variation to the current lease reflecting the renewal or, if appropriate, prepare a brand-new lease.

We can also prepare the disclosure statement on behalf of the landlord, if the lease is a retail lease.

Does the lease need to be renewed on the same terms or at all?

If the lease option for a further term has been validly exercised, as a landlord you will generally be obligated to provide a new lease on the same terms and conditions, less one option term.

An exception would be if the tenant misses the due date to exercise its option. This is useful when the tenant is the type of tenant with whom you no longer wish to occupy your premises. Another option open to landlords in these circumstances is to negotiate a fresh lease on brand new terms.

Sometimes a new lease term can be denied even if the option has been validly exercised. An example of this is where the tenant has been a consistent late payer and where these defaults have been addressed along the way. As the landlord you may be entitled to deny the exercise of an option or renegotiate the lease in such circumstances.

Our lease lawyers can also advise you clearly if you wish to refuse the tenant’s exercise of option to renew for a further term of the lease.

How does a lease renewal work?

Renewing a lease can be very straightforward if the lease terms are relatively the same. If there are complicating factors our lease lawyers can help negotiate and draft the right terms to protect your position.

We generally require the following information:

• A copy of your current lease and a copy of correspondence where the tenant exercised the option to renew.
• A list of any alterations to the lease that have been agreed between you and the tenant (if applicable).
• If the lease is a retail lease, a copy of the disclosure statement previously provided to the tenant so that we use it as a basis for preparing a new one.

Once we have all the relevant documentation and your instructions, we will quickly prepare the required lease and supporting documentation such as the disclosure statement etc.

Contact us today for assistance.

You can be sure that the quality and legal advice is of a very high standard and that the documents will be done quickly. In this respect, this shows the tenant that you as the landlord are organised and that you care about their tenant relationship.

If there are any disputes regarding the exercising an option or the lease renewal that your position will be robustly defended.

Our fees to prepare the lease renewal documentation on your behalf are extremely competitive. Our team at PCL Lawyers are experienced in lease negotiations and resolving disputes and regardless of the type of commercial lease being renewed we can offer the appropriate advice.

Our lease lawyers can be contacted either by completing the contact form on this page or, by calling us on one 1300 907 335.