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When you rent out premises to carry out business activities, you usually enter into a Lease Agreement with the landlord.
Your Lease Agreement will cover things like the duration of the lease, the fees you need to pay, who can occupy the premises and any restricted activities.
So, if your arrangement is going well, chances are you want to continue the lease for longer than what your agreement stipulates. This is where you’d look at extending your lease.
In this article, we’ll cover the following:
- What is an Extension Of Lease?
- Are there other ways I can terminate my lease?
- Is extending the same as renewing my lease?
- Can I get someone to Review My Extension Of Lease?
How Do I Terminate My Existing Lease?
Leases can come to an end for a number of reasons, good and bad. When this happens, you have a few different ways to terminate your existing lease:
- Agree to end the lease with the landlord and return the property
- Renew the lease
- Extend the lease
Usually, your Lease Agreement will set out the date of the lease’s expiry. If both you and your landlord are happy to end the lease on that date, then you can do so without further trouble.
Sometimes, parties may choose to end their lease sooner than expected – this is where you’d need to draft a Lease Surrender Agreement.
However, if you want to continue using your business premises, you can either renew or extend your lease. It’s important to know that these aren’t the same thing – we’ll go through the key differences later in this article.
So, what happens if you want to extend your lease?
I Want To Extend My Lease – What Do I Need To Do?
If you want to extend your lease, this usually means you want to continue your existing lease, but for an extended period of time. You can, however, negotiate the terms of the lease when you extend it.
If you choose to extend your lease, you’ll need to sign an Extension Of Lease. But before you do this, you’ll need to provide your landlord with written notice within the time period set out in your original Lease Agreement.
If you choose to negotiate the terms of your extension of lease, it’s worth discussing your right to renew and clarify how this will work if you choose to do so in the future. This will help you avoid any complications and ambiguity later down the track.
Extending Vs Renewing My Lease
When you want to continue using your business premises, you can either extend or renew your lease. Like we mentioned earlier, these are actually two different things, so be careful when choosing what to do at this stage.
Extending your lease is continuing your existing lease, but renewing your lease means starting a new one entirely. When you extend your lease, you can negotiate your existing terms, and renewing your lease means you’ll have a new set of terms entirely.
Either way, they don’t have to be the same ones you started out with. Also, both options require you to sign a brand new document.
What Does An Extension Of Lease Include?
When you extend your lease, you’ll need to draft and sign an Extension Of Lease. Our lawyers can help you draft an Extension Of Lease depending on what your business specifically requires under your preferred arrangement.
Regardless, a standard Extension Of Lease should include the following key terms:
- The duration of the extension
- Termination rights
- Defects management
- Outgoings
- Fit-out works
- Limits on how the premises can be used
- Sub-letting tights
- Rights and responsibilities of the landlord and tenant
If you’re not sure about any of these terms or the role they play in your lease arrangement, feel free to chat with one of our lawyers who are happy to answer your questions.
Where Can I Get An Extension Of Lease?
If you’re looking to extend your lease, our lawyers are happy to help you out. At Sprintlaw, we offer an Extension Of Lease package which includes the following:
- An Extension Of Lease, tailored to your business’ requirements
- Phone consultations with a Sprintlaw lawyer who can advise you on key legal matters, and highlight any issues in your existing lease if you choose to extend it
- 1 complimentary amendment to the final draft we provide you
Need Help?
When it comes to terminating, extending or renewing your lease, it’s always worth getting legal help. For example, if you choose to extend your lease, a lawyer can help you identify any legal issues that might cause hiccups or headaches for you if you choose to extend the duration of your lease later.
If this sounds like your situation, we also offer an Extension Of Lease Review package where a Sprintlaw lawyer looks over your existing Extension Of Lease and ensures it is suitable for what you want to get out of your lease.
If you would like a consultation on your options going forward around Commercial Leases, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.
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