Commercial & Retail Leasing Lawyer, Sydney CBD
Sarah Walsh is a commercial leasing lawyer in the Sydney CBD. She drafts, reviews and negotiates commercial and retail leases for tenants and landlords, explains every clause in plain English, and handles the lease through to signing and registration. Every matter is on a fixed fee, so you know the cost upfront. Opening a shop? See retail lease lawyer. Buying or selling the building too? See commercial property lawyer.
A lease decides what your premises cost you for years
A commercial or retail lease sets out each side’s rights and responsibilities for the whole term: the rent, how it increases, what outgoings you pay, what happens if you want to sell the business or leave early, and what you must do when the lease ends. Those terms are hard to change once the lease is signed.
That is why the lease should be reviewed and understood before you sign it, not after. A careful review at the start avoids conflict and expense later, for tenants and landlords alike.
Leasing a shop, office or warehouse
- Advice on the Lease Terms Sheet and whether your requirements are met
- Requests and negotiates amendments on your behalf
- Reviews the lease and explains your obligations
- Looks for opportunities and benefits for you as tenant
- Signing and registration with NSW Land Registry Services
- A report once the lease formalities are complete
Leasing out commercial or retail premises
- Discusses what you need from the lease
- Works with your leasing agent on the Lease Terms Sheet
- Drafts a commercial or retail lease suited to your premises
- Negotiates the amendments your tenant asks for
- Signing and registration of the lease on title
Retail lease or commercial lease? It matters
Not every lease is treated the same way in NSW. Many shops, including those in shopping centres and retail strips, are covered by the Retail Leases Act 1994 (NSW), which gives retail tenants extra protections. Offices, warehouses and most other commercial premises are not, so the wording of the lease itself carries even more weight.
For retail shop leases, some of the key rules include:
- The landlord must give the tenant a disclosure statement at least 7 days before the lease is entered into.
- The lease term must generally be at least 5 years, unless the tenant waives that with a certificate from a lawyer.
- The landlord generally cannot pass its own legal costs of preparing the lease on to the tenant.
The first thing Sarah checks is which kind of lease you have, because it changes what you can negotiate and what protects you.
What we check in every lease
Whether you are the tenant or the landlord, these are the terms that decide how the lease works in practice.
- The commencing rent
- Incentives and rent-free periods
- Rent increases
- Lease duration and options to renew
- Outgoings and other charges
- Subletting the premises
- Transferring or assigning the lease
- Each side's rights to end the lease
- Insurances, and who takes them out
- Maintenance and repair obligations
- Dispute resolution
- End of lease and make good obligations
How it works
- Initial chat. Tell Sarah about the premises, the deal and your timeline.
- Terms sheet. Advice on the Lease Terms Sheet before the lease itself is drafted, when changes are easiest to make.
- Review or draft, then negotiate. Sarah reviews the lease or drafts it, and negotiates the amendments on your behalf.
- Sign and register. Signing and registration of the lease with NSW Land Registry Services.
- Done. Tenants receive a report confirming the lease formalities are complete.
Big-firm experience, boutique service
Sarah Walsh is the Principal Solicitor and founder of Sarah Walsh Conveyancing & Leasing, with over a decade of specialised experience in property law. She started at a boutique commercial law firm and went on to work as a Property and Projects Solicitor at one of Australia’s largest law firms, on multimillion-dollar leasing and conveyancing deals. Sarah was admitted to practise in NSW by the Supreme Court of NSW in 2018 and is a member of the Law Society of NSW.
Today she brings that experience to every lease with a personal, fixed fee service, from her office at Level 1, 222 Pitt Street in the Sydney CBD, for clients across Sydney and NSW. Her clients rate her 5.0 from 113 Google reviews.
“Sarah has gone truly above and beyond in her review and negotiation of a commercial lease. She thought of things I’d never think of myself and is truly savvy in her expertise.”
Amy Freeland, Google review
Commercial leasing questions
A commercial leasing lawyer drafts, reviews and negotiates leases for business premises, and explains what each clause means for you. Sarah acts for tenants and landlords on commercial and retail leases in NSW, from the Lease Terms Sheet through to signing and registration.
Yes. Once a lease is signed, its terms are very hard to change. A review before you sign lets you understand the rent, outgoings, options, make good and exit terms, and negotiate changes while you still can.
Many shop leases in NSW are covered by the Retail Leases Act 1994 (NSW), which gives retail tenants extra protections, such as a disclosure statement before the lease is signed. Offices, warehouses and most other commercial premises are not covered, so the lease wording matters even more.
For retail shop leases, the landlord must give the tenant a disclosure statement setting out key details of the lease and the premises at least 7 days before the lease is entered into.
Yes. Sarah acts for both landlords and tenants on commercial and retail leases.
Sarah works on a fixed fee, so you know the cost upfront before any work starts. Book an initial chat to get a quote for your lease.
Sarah’s office is at Level 1, Suite 1.01, 222 Pitt Street in the Sydney CBD, and she works with clients across Sydney and NSW.