Retail Lease Lawyer, Sydney
Sarah Walsh is a retail lease lawyer in the Sydney CBD. She reviews, drafts and negotiates retail shop 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.
A shop lease has its own rules in NSW
Many shops, including those in shopping centres and retail strips, are covered by the Retail Leases Act 1994 (NSW). It gives retail tenants protections that office and warehouse tenants do not get, and it puts extra obligations on landlords.
Whether those rules apply to your premises changes what you can negotiate and what protects you, so it is the first thing Sarah checks.
Opening or taking over a shop
- Advice on the Lease Terms Sheet before the lease is drafted
- 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
Leasing out a shop
- Discusses what you need from the lease
- Works with your leasing agent on the Lease Terms Sheet
- Drafts a retail lease suited to your premises
- Negotiates the amendments your tenant asks for
- Signing and registration of the lease on title
Key retail lease rules
For retail shop leases in NSW, 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.
Offices, warehouses and most other commercial premises are not covered by these rules, so for those the wording of the lease carries even more weight. See commercial leasing.
What Sarah checks in every retail lease
These are the terms that decide what the shop really costs you and how much freedom you have during the lease.
- 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 shop, the deal and your timeline.
- Terms sheet. Advice on the Lease Terms Sheet before the lease 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
Retail lease questions
A retail lease lawyer reviews, drafts and negotiates leases for shops and other retail premises, and explains what each clause means for you. Sarah acts for both tenants and landlords on retail leases in NSW, from the Lease Terms Sheet to signing and registration.
Many shop leases in NSW are, including most shops in shopping centres and retail strips, but not every lease is. Sarah checks this first, because it changes what you can negotiate and what protects you.
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.
Generally a retail shop lease must be at least 5 years, unless the tenant waives that with a certificate from a lawyer. Get advice before you sign one.
Yes. Sarah acts for both landlords and tenants on retail and commercial 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. Meetings are booked in advance.