Commercial Lease Review: Questions for a Lawyer

Send the Full Lease Package and Proposed Use

Collect the draft lease, offer or heads of agreement, plans, disclosure documents, incentives and any guarantee. Tell the lawyer what you have already signed or paid, the proposed start date and the deadline requested by the other party. Missing side documents can change the picture, so do not send only the rent page.

Describe the intended use, trading hours, equipment, access, signage and fit-out. Ask who will check planning, licensing and technical suitability. A legal review of lease wording does not necessarily include a planning investigation, building inspection or financial assessment of the business.

Compare Rent, Reviews, Outgoings and Incentives

Create a cost schedule covering rent, review dates, outgoings, utilities, insurance, security and fit-out contributions. Mark whether each figure is known, estimated or not supplied. Ask how the document calculates increases and allocates costs, and whether the written incentive matches what was offered.

Discuss cash-flow implications with your financial adviser alongside the legal review. Ask the lawyer to identify any clause that makes an apparent concession conditional or repayable. Comparing the first year's advertised rent alone can conceal materially different obligations over the term.

Review Options, Assignment, Guarantees and Exit Costs

Ask how renewal options must be exercised, what conditions attach and which dates need to be recorded. Explain whether you may sell the business, change ownership or move before the term ends. Ask what consent or continuing obligations the lease creates for assignment, subletting or an early departure.

Read any personal guarantee and make-good provisions as separate decisions. Ask who is personally bound, what obligations are covered and what reinstatement work may be required. Do not assume that handing back the keys, transferring a business or changing directors automatically ends every obligation.

Agree on Review, Negotiation and Signing Support

Ask whether the fee includes written advice, marked-up terms, one negotiation round and checking the final document. Identify who will communicate with the agent or landlord. If the landlord changes the draft after advice, send the complete revised version and ask whether it needs another review.

Before signing, ask for a list of unresolved issues and tasks outside the lawyer's scope. The NSW Small Business Commissioner's retail tenancy guide is a useful NSW-specific reference; other jurisdictions have different resources. Keep a dated record of final documents and the operational dates your business must manage.

The decision desk · practical workbook

A commercial lease decision sheet: occupation, cost and exit

Read a proposed lease against the business you intend to run. A lease can be acceptable on rent and still create a problem with fit-out, permitted use, security or leaving the premises. Separate legal review from accounting, building and approval checks.

Use these prompts in your private preparation notes. On a narrow screen, scroll the table sideways to read every column.

Preparation mistakes to avoid

When the situation is less straightforward