Retail Shop Leases Act 1994 (QLD): Complete Guide

The Retail Shop Leases Act Queensland covers leases of retail shops of 1,000 square metres or less used for a listed retail business, or premises situated inside a retail shopping centre with five or more retail shops. Where it applies, the landlord must give a disclosure statement seven days before you sign, cannot charge you for preparing the lease, cannot take key money, and disputes go to mediation before QCAT.

The catch is that plenty of Queensland tenants sign what they believe is a protected retail lease and later find the Act never applied to them at all.

Three QCAT proceedings in 2025 and 2026 failed on jurisdictional grounds for exactly that reason, because the leases turned out not to be retail shop leases at all.

Does the Retail Shop Leases Act Apply to Your Lease in Queensland?

The Act applies if your premises are a “retail shop”, which means premises situated in a retail shopping centre, or premises used wholly or predominantly for carrying on a retail business.

If either limb is met, and none of the exclusions in section 5A apply, the Retail Shop Leases Act 1994 (Qld) will generally apply, and its protections are written into your lease automatically, subject to the other application provisions in the Act.

Section 20A is the main one to watch, because it strips most of those protections out of very short leases.

Section 16 makes any attempt to contract out of the Act void, and section 17 says the Act beats any inconsistent term in your lease.

That means a landlord cannot draft around it, and a tenant cannot sign the protections away, even willingly.

The current version of the Act is the reprint current as at 1 August 2025.

What Counts as a Retail Business in Queensland?

A retail business is one listed in Schedule 1 of the Retail Shop Leases Regulation 2016, or a business whose whole or predominant activity is selling, hiring or supplying the goods or services listed there.

Schedule 1 sets out 26 categories, each with its own list of specific goods and services.

They include clothing retailing, bread and cake retailing, dine in retailing, takeaway food, fresh meat, fish and poultry retailing, fruit and vegetable retailing, supermarkets and grocery stores, pharmaceutical and cosmetic retailing, footwear, florists, newsagents, toys, watches and jewellery, and specialised food retailing.

The list is the test, not your own sense of what feels retail.

A gym, a medical centre, a real estate agency, a car dealership or a warehouse is not on the list, so a standalone lease of those premises falls outside the Act unless the shopping centre limb applies.

Check the list rather than trusting the label above the door, because the test looks at what the business actually does. A travel agency, for example, sounds like a service business but appears in Schedule 1 under miscellaneous retailing.

When Is a Group of Shops a Retail Shopping Centre?

Under section 5D, a retail shopping centre is a cluster of premises where five or more of the premises are used wholly or predominantly for retail businesses, all the premises share one owner or one lessor or head lessor or sit in a single community titles scheme, all the premises are in one building or in two or more buildings that are adjoining or separated only by common areas or a road in the circumstances the section sets out, and the cluster is promoted or generally regarded as a shopping centre, mall, court or arcade.

All four elements must be present.

This limb matters because it pulls in non-retail tenants who would otherwise miss out.

An accountant or a physiotherapist leasing a tenancy inside a genuine shopping centre can still hold a retail shop lease, even though their business never appears in Schedule 1.

The point was tested in Mahadeo Property Investments Pty Ltd v Clinrad Goodna Pty Ltd [2026] QCAT 129, where a radiology clinic argued it held a retail shop lease.

The Tribunal found that diagnostic imaging and health services are not businesses mentioned in Schedule 1, and that only two retail businesses could be identified at the site, well short of the five the definition demands.

The claim was struck out for want of jurisdiction.

Which Leases Does the Act Specifically Exclude?

Section 5A takes a lease outside the Act if it falls into any of these categories:

• A retail shop with a floor area of more than 1,000 square metres
• South Bank Corporation leases that are perpetual or run for 100 years or more
• Premises used wholly or predominantly for carrying on a business by a tenant for the landlord, as the landlord’s employee or agent
• Premises within a theme or amusement park
• Premises at a flea market or an arts and crafts market
• Temporary retail stalls at agricultural or trade shows, carnivals, festivals or cultural events
• Common area premises used for ATMs, vending machines, advertising, storage, parking, telecommunications equipment, or information, entertainment, community or leisure facilities
• Premises in a shopping centre not used for a retail business, where the retail area is 25 per cent or less of the total lettable area of that level or building

That last exclusion is the one non-retail tenants get caught by most often.

If you run an office suite on the first floor of a mixed building and the retail floorspace on that level is a quarter or less of the lettable area, you sit outside the Act even though the ground floor looks like a shopping centre.

Short leases are treated differently again.

Under section 20A, a lease with a total term of six months or less, counting any right to extend, only picks up the definitional and trading hours parts of the Act, not the disclosure, rent and compensation protections.

Does the 1,000 Square Metre Limit Apply to the Whole Premises or Only the Retail Part?

The limit applies to the entire premises described in the lease, not just the portion you actually trade from.

QCAT has confirmed this twice in recent decisions, and both tenants lost.

In Farmers Arms Tavern Pty Ltd v Barns [2025] QCAT 134, the leased premises measured 2,659 square metres.

The tenant argued that only the roughly 765 square metres used for the retail business should be counted.

Member D Brown rejected that, holding that “the definition of the retail shop refers to the entire leased premises, not just the part of the building used for the purpose of conducting the retail business”.

The application was dismissed for want of jurisdiction.

The same reasoning decided Suttons Beach Pavilion Pty Ltd v Moreton Bay City Council [2025] QCAT 135, where the total leased area was 1,736 square metres.

The tenant said only Pavilion 1, the 454 square metre café and restaurant space that produced almost all of its revenue, should be measured.

The Tribunal held that it is “necessary to consider the total floor area of the premise under the lease”, and dismissed the claim.

The practical lesson is blunt.

If your lease demises a large area and you only trade from part of it, check the measurement before you rely on a single protection in the Act.

Why Does Classification Matter So Much?

Classification decides whether you get the Act’s statutory protections on top of your lease, or whether you are left with the lease, the Property Law Act 2023 and the general law alone, and the difference is worth real money.

The table below sets out the key differences between a retail shop lease and a commercial lease that falls outside the Act.

The most expensive line in that table is usually outgoings.

Land tax on a shopping centre site is one of the largest single holding costs an owner carries, and a retail tenant cannot lawfully be asked to contribute to it.

Neither the Queensland Small Business Commissioner nor a landlord’s solicitor gets the final say on classification.

Only QCAT or a court can decide whether a lease is a retail shop lease, and as the 2025 and 2026 decisions show, the Tribunal will strike out a claim if the answer is no.

What Must a Landlord Disclose Before You Sign?

Under section 21B, the landlord must give a prospective tenant a draft of the lease and a disclosure statement at least seven days before the tenant enters into the lease.

The disclosure statement is the approved Form 7, and it sets out the premises details, the term, the rent, the outgoings the tenant will be asked to pay, the fit-out obligations, the trading hours and the centre details.

Seven days is a floor, not a courtesy, and it exists so a tenant can take advice before committing.

Section 21B does not apply to a renewal under an option, which is governed separately by section 21E.

Can the Seven Day Period Be Shortened?

Yes, but only through a formal waiver notice, and the disclosure statement must still arrive before the lease is signed.

Section 21B(2) allows the landlord to give the disclosure statement after the seven day mark if the prospective tenant signs a waiver notice, and, unless the tenant is a major lessee, also provides a legal advice report.

A waiver notice is a written notice signed by the tenant agreeing to waive the landlord’s obligation to disclose by the prescribed date.

The legal advice report is the approved Form 12, signed by a lawyer confirming the tenant has received advice on the lease.

Tenants are pushed into signing waivers far more often than they should be.

Before signing one, work out what you are actually giving up, which is the breathing room to read the disclosure statement against the lease and price the deal properly.

What Happens If the Disclosure Statement Is Late, Missing or Wrong?

The tenant can terminate the lease by written notice within six months after entering into it, and can claim compensation for loss caused by the failure.

Section 21F gives that right where the landlord did not comply with section 21B or 21E, or where the disclosure statement was a “defective statement”.

A statement is defective if it is incomplete in a material particular, or contains information that is false or misleading in a material particular.

It is not defective merely because it leaves out information irrelevant to the lease, or because its layout does not match the approved form.

There is a defence.

Under section 21F(4), the tenant cannot terminate for a defective statement if the landlord acted honestly and reasonably in giving it, and the tenant is in substantially as good a position as it would have been had the statement been correct.

Even where termination is off the table, section 21F(5) still makes the landlord liable to pay reasonable compensation, decided through the dispute resolution process, for loss or damage caused by the non-compliance.

What Does the Tenant Have to Disclose?

A prospective tenant who is not a franchisee must give the landlord a disclosure statement, the approved Form 8, at least seven days before entering into the lease.

A prospective tenant who is not a major lessee and not a franchisee must also give the landlord a financial advice report and a legal advice report before entering into the lease, under section 22D.

Assignments carry their own disclosure chain, and it trips people up when they sell a shop business.

Under section 22B, the assignor must give the prospective assignee a disclosure statement and a copy of the current lease at least seven days before the earlier of the day the assignee signs the business sale agreement, or the day the landlord is asked to consent.

The payoff is significant.

Section 50A releases the assignor, and any guarantor of the assignor, from liability for the assignee’s later defaults, but only if the assignor complied with section 22B and the disclosure statement was not defective.

Skip the disclosure, and you can stay on the hook for a business you sold years ago.

Separately, section 22 requires the landlord to give the tenant the signed lease document or a certified copy within 30 days after the lease is signed by the parties.

What Can a Landlord Charge You Under a Retail Shop Lease?

The Act blocks several categories of charge outright, and the biggest is the cost of preparing the lease itself.

Section 48 says a tenant is not liable to pay any amount for the landlord’s legal or other expenses relating to preparing the lease, renewing or extending it, obtaining a mortgagee’s consent, or the landlord’s own compliance with the Act.

The tenant can still be charged registration fees and survey fees connected with registering the lease.

There is one narrow exception.

If the parties agreed the terms, the prospective tenant asked in writing for the final lease to be prepared, and the tenant then refused to sign it, the landlord can invoice reasonable legal costs of preparing that final lease.

Section 47 adds that a tenant cannot be compelled to use, or pay for in whole or in part, the services of a lawyer nominated by the landlord.

Which Outgoings Can Be Passed On, and Which Cannot?

Outgoings are only recoverable if the lease specifies them, says how they will be determined and apportioned, and says how the landlord may recover them.

That is section 37, and it means a vague clause saying the tenant will pay “all outgoings” does not meet the requirement unless the lease also sets out the determination, apportionment and recovery method.

Section 7 then defines outgoings and lists what is excluded.

A landlord cannot recover land tax on the land the centre or building sits on, capital expenditure including the amortisation of capital costs, contributions to a depreciation or sinking fund, loss of profits insurance premiums, an insurance excess on the landlord’s own claim, the landlord’s contributions to merchants’ associations and centre promotion funds, or interest and charges on money the landlord borrowed.

Section 38 caps your share.

Your proportion of apportionable outgoings cannot exceed the proportion your shop’s area bears to the total area of all premises in the centre that benefit, or can benefit, from the outgoing.

Sinking fund contributions sit outside this machinery entirely, and that catches people out.

Because section 7 excludes them from the definition of outgoings, a sinking fund levy is not something you can challenge as an improperly claimed outgoing. Where a lease requires you to pay into a sinking fund for major maintenance and repairs, section 40 governs it instead, and it imposes real limits: one fund only, held in an interest bearing account, spent only on the stated purposes, total annual contributions from all tenants capped at 5 per cent of the landlord’s estimated outgoings, and no further contributions once the fund balance reaches $100,000.

What Happens If the Landlord Skips the Outgoings Estimate or the Audit?

You can stop paying outgoings until the landlord provides the missing document.

Section 38A requires an annual estimate of apportionable outgoings, in the approved Form 13, at least one month before the start of the period it covers, or at the start of the lease if you sign part way through a period.

Section 38B requires an audited annual statement, the approved Form 14, within three months after the end of the period, prepared by a registered auditor and comparing what was estimated against what was actually spent.

Both documents must itemise outgoings so that no single item is more than 5 per cent of the total, with carve-outs for statutory charges and items that cannot be broken down further.

Section 38C is the enforcement lever.

If the landlord does not give you the estimate or the audited statement, you may withhold payments for apportionable outgoings until the landlord hands it over.

Is Key Money Allowed in Queensland?

No.

Section 39 makes it an offence for a landlord, or someone acting for a landlord, to seek or accept key money, or any amount for the goodwill of the tenant’s business, with a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units.

Anyone who paid key money can recover the amount as a debt.

The section still allows a landlord to recover the reasonable costs of investigating a proposed assignee and the reasonable expenses of an assignment, to take rent in advance of no more than one rental period, to hold a repayable bond, to be paid for a fit-out the landlord provided, and to charge for the grant of a franchise.

How Does the Act Control Rent Reviews?

Rent reviews are capped at one in each year of the lease, and each review must use only one basis.

Read that cap carefully, because section 27(3) disapplies it for the first year of the lease.

That means the once a year restriction bites from year two onwards, and a lease can lawfully provide for more than one review during year one.

Section 27 also requires the lease to state the timing of reviews and the basis for each one.

The permitted bases are current market rent, an independently published index of prices, costs or wages, a fixed percentage of the base rent, a fixed actual amount, an average of rent paid over earlier years where the rent is base plus turnover, another basis prescribed by regulation, or a single basis formed by combining two or more of those bases.

The combination option is narrower than it looks, because it can only draw on the bases in paragraphs (b) to (f), which leaves current market rent out of any combined basis.

A GST adjustment is not a rent review, and neither is a rent concession.

Major lessees can opt out of most of section 27 by written notice before signing.

Are Ratchet Clauses Enforceable in Queensland?

No, a ratchet rent provision in a retail shop lease is void.

Section 36A applies where the lease provides for a review on a basis under which the rent could go down, such as a market review, and then contains a clause preventing that decrease.

A ratchet rent provision is one that stops the rent decreasing, limits how far it can decrease, or lets a party avoid a review to achieve either result.

The exception is for a major lessee who has given a notice under section 27(8), which is the same opt-out that applies to the rent review rules.

For most tenants this is a genuine protection, because it means a market review in a falling market is a real review and not a one way door.

What Are Your Rights at the End of a Retail Shop Lease?

The Act builds in notice obligations at each exit point, and the consequences of missing one differ depending on which notice it is.

Where the lease contains an option to renew, section 46 requires the landlord to give written notice of the option date at least two months, but not more than six months, before that date.

Be careful with this one.

The Queensland Small Business Commissioner confirms that section 46 does not prescribe any penalty or tenant protection if the landlord fails to give that notice on time, so your option date is not automatically extended.

Diarise your own option window rather than relying on a reminder.

What If the Lease Has No Option to Renew?

Section 46AA gives you a notice right, and a six month extension if the landlord ignores it.

Where a lease has no option and no separate renewal agreement, the landlord must give written notice within the notice period either offering a renewal or extension on stated terms, or saying it does not intend to offer one.

For a lease of one year or less, the notice period is at least three months but not longer than six months before the lease ends.

For a longer lease, it is at least six months but not longer than one year before the lease ends.

An offer cannot be withdrawn for one month after it is made.

If the landlord does not give the notice at all, the lease term is extended until six months after the landlord finally gives it, provided the tenant asks for the extension in writing before the lease would otherwise expire.

The tenant can end that extended period early on at least one month’s written notice.

The written request before expiry is the trap, because tenants who simply hold over lose the extension right entirely.

What Notice Applies to Relocation and Demolition?

Relocation requires three months’ notice, and demolition requires six months’ notice.

Under section 46D, a relocation notice must give enough detail of the proposed refurbishment, redevelopment or extension to show a genuine proposal that will be carried out within a reasonably practicable time and cannot practicably proceed without vacant possession.

It must also identify a reasonably comparable alternative shop, which has to be inside the same centre if your shop is in one, and state the relocation day, which must be at least three months after the notice.

Section 46G entitles you to your reasonable relocation costs, including dismantling and reinstalling fixtures and fittings, modifying or replacing them to the standard they were at before the move, and legal costs.

For demolition, section 46I requires a termination notice giving enough detail to show a genuine proposal to demolish the building within a reasonably practicable time, and it must be given at least six months before the termination day.

Section 46K makes the landlord liable for reasonable compensation if the demolition is not carried out within a reasonably practicable time, and for your fit-out costs to the extent you paid for the fit-out, whether or not the demolition goes ahead.

The early termination limb has a defence attached, so it is not automatic.

If the landlord proves that a genuine proposal to demolish the building within a reasonably practicable time existed when the termination notice was given, that part of the compensation claim falls away, although the fit-out entitlement is not subject to the same defence.

Section 43AD stops double recovery, so you cannot claim general business disturbance compensation for the same loss already covered by the relocation or demolition provisions.

One more clause worth checking is refurbishment.

Section 50B makes any clause requiring you to refurbish or refit the shop void unless the lease gives general details of the nature, extent and timing of the work.

When Can You Claim Compensation for Business Disturbance?

Section 43 gives you a compensation right, and section 42 is what implies the compensation provisions into a retail shop lease, subject to the exceptions that section sets out.

The landlord must pay reasonable compensation where it substantially restricts your access to the shop, takes unauthorised action that substantially restricts or alters customer access or the flow of potential customers, causes significant disruption to your trading or fails to prevent disruption within its control, does not promptly fix equipment breakdowns or building defects, neglects to clean, maintain or repaint the centre or building where required, or forces you to vacate before the lease ends for an extension, refurbishment or demolition.

You should give written notice as soon as practicable.

Failing to notify does not destroy the claim, but it can reduce the amount awarded.

If the parties cannot agree, section 44 sends the amount to the dispute resolution process.

Section 44A stops landlords writing the right away.

Any agreement limiting compensation is void, with one exception.

A lease may limit compensation for an “anticipated disturbance” occurring within one year of the lease being entered into, but only where the landlord gave prior written notice specifically describing the nature of the disturbance, how likely it is and on what basis, and its timing, duration and effect.

A general warning that works “may” occur is expressly not enough.

How Do You Resolve a Retail Shop Lease Dispute in Queensland?

Retail tenancy disputes go to mediation with the Queensland Small Business Commissioner first, and only reach QCAT if mediation does not resolve them.

The Commissioner took over this role permanently on 3 May 2022 under the Small Business Commissioner Act 2022, replacing the departmental chief executive, so older guides that refer to lodging a dispute with the department are out of date.

The numbers suggest mediation is worth taking seriously.

In 2024-25, the Commissioner resolved 71 per cent of leasing disputes in an average of 36 days, and the two most common issues handled were the return of security deposits and arguments over repairs and maintenance.

By comparison, QCAT recorded 76 retail shop lease dispute lodgements in 2024-25, up from 70 the year before.

Those figures suggest many disputes resolve well before a QCAT hearing.

What Happens at QSBC Mediation?

You lodge a dispute notice with the Commissioner, pay a shared fee, and attend a mediation conference run by a mediator accredited under the Australian Mediator and Dispute Resolution Accreditation Standards.

The mediation fee is $396.64 for applications received in the 2026-27 financial year, which works out at $198.32 per party because the cost is shared equally.

Mediation is held in private, and there is no official record of the conference, which is what allows both sides to talk openly about settlement.

Representation is limited, so each party generally runs its own case, although a mediator may allow a representative to speak for a company.

If you reach agreement, it is put into writing and signed by or for the parties.

That agreement matters, because if the other side breaches it you can apply to QCAT for an order to resolve the dispute, provided the lease has not ended more than a year before you lodge.

When Does the Dispute Go to QCAT?

The mediator refers an unresolved dispute to QCAT where the jurisdictional conditions are met, and four months is the outer limit rather than a waiting period you have to sit through.

Referral can come sooner than that, for instance where the mediation goes ahead and the parties cannot reach a mediated solution, or where a party does not attend the conference.

The four month mark is simply the point at which referral is triggered if the matter is still sitting with the mediator.

QCAT has a monetary limit of $750,000 for retail shop lease disputes.

QCAT can also only hear the dispute if the retail shop lease has not ended more than one year before the dispute was lodged, so a tenant sitting on a grievance after handing back the keys can lose the forum entirely.

Section 103 also carves out some issues.

QCAT cannot decide the amount of rent payable or the amount of a landlord’s outgoings, though it can decide the procedure for determining rent and the basis on which outgoings are payable.

Where the parties cannot agree on market rent, the Act sends the question to a specialist retail valuer, whose costs the parties share.

Can You Go Straight to QCAT in an Urgent Case?

Yes, for interim relief only.

Where a situation requires urgent action, QCAT can make an interim or injunction order, which can prohibit a person from doing something while the substantive dispute runs its course.

That application goes directly to QCAT rather than through the Commissioner.

A common example is a tenant seeking to stop a lockout or a call on a bank guarantee while the underlying dispute is still at mediation.

Outside that narrow exception, mediation is a genuine precondition rather than a formality, so building your case for the mediation conference is time well spent.

How Does the Property Law Act 2023 Affect Retail Leases?

The Property Law Act 2023 (Qld) commenced on 1 August 2025, and it sits alongside the Retail Shop Leases Act rather than replacing it.

Both Acts now apply to a Queensland retail shop lease at the same time, and almost no retail leasing guide published before mid-2025 accounts for it.

The change tenants notice first is assignment consent.

Section 142 requires a landlord to give its decision on a consent request within one month after receiving the full particulars the section calls for, and it imposes a duty not to unreasonably withhold consent.

It is not limited to assignments either, so check it whenever the lease requires the landlord’s consent to a dealing.

That consent regime applies to dealings occurring after 1 August 2025 even where the lease itself was signed years earlier.

Section 144 releases a tenant, and any guarantor, from liability where the lease is assigned on again by the assignee to a subsequent assignee, and it does so despite any agreement to the contrary.

Unlike the consent rules, this release only helps you if the lease itself was entered into after the Act commenced.

The Act also implies 12 standard terms into leases through Schedule 1, covering matters such as quiet enjoyment, abatement of rent where the premises are destroyed or damaged, repair obligations and the power to inspect.

Unlike the Retail Shop Leases Act protections, these standard terms can be altered or removed by contrary agreement, so they are a default position rather than a guarantee.

There is also a new relief pathway.

Section 160 lets a tenant apply for relief against forfeiture within one month after the landlord re-enters the premises, and the court can extend that period, so treat the month as the working deadline rather than an absolute cut-off.

A separate set of provisions deals with relief where a landlord refuses to renew or extend a lease, or to sell the reversion.

That regime is narrower than it sounds, because it turns on an existing written option in the lease and on the specific failures or breaches the landlord relies on to refuse. It is not a general right to challenge any decision not to offer you a new lease.

The wider point is that the transitional rules are not uniform, and that is the part most people get wrong. Check which provisions reach your lease before relying on any of them.

What Should You Check Before Signing a Retail Shop Lease in Queensland?

Start by confirming the Act applies, because everything else follows from that answer.

Measure the premises as they are described in the lease, not as you intend to use them, and count the retail tenancies in the building if you are relying on the shopping centre limb.

If you are close to 1,000 square metres or close to the 25 per cent lettable area threshold, get the position settled before you sign rather than after a dispute starts.

Next, read the disclosure statement against the lease line by line.

The disclosure statement is where the outgoings estimate, the fit-out obligations, the trading hours and the centre details are quantified, and a mismatch between it and the lease is the single most common source of later argument.

Check the outgoings clause for land tax and capital expenditure, since neither can be recovered from you as an outgoing, and check any sinking fund clause against the separate limits in section 40.

Then look at the exit.

Work out your option date, diarise it independently, and check whether the lease has an option at all, because a lease without one puts you into the section 46AA notice regime with very different timing.

Look for a demolition or relocation clause and understand what it lets the landlord do, and check any refurbishment clause states the nature, extent and timing of the work, because it is void without those details.

Finally, keep your paperwork.

The approved forms are published by the Queensland Government, and the ones you are likely to encounter are Form 7 lessor disclosure statement, Form 8 lessee disclosure statement, Form 9 assignor disclosure statement, Form 11 financial advice report, Form 12 legal advice report, Form 13 annual estimate of outgoings, Form 14 audited statement of outgoings, and Forms 15 and 16 for assignee disclosure.

A tidy file of signed forms and dated correspondence is what turns a compensation claim or a section 21F termination right from an argument into an outcome.

Need Help With a Retail Shop Lease in Queensland?

The Retail Shop Leases Act Queensland gives tenants real protections on disclosure, costs, outgoings, rent reviews and compensation, but only where the lease actually falls within the Act, and only where the deadlines are met.

As retail and commercial lease lawyers in Brisbane, my law firm can review your lease and disclosure statement, confirm whether the Act applies to your premises, and help you deal with a dispute before it becomes expensive, all at a fixed fee agreed up front.

Contact my law firm today by calling 1300-529-888.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Retail Shop Leases Act apply to a lease over 1,000 square metres?

No. Section 5A excludes any retail shop with a floor area of more than 1,000 square metres. QCAT has confirmed the measurement covers the entire premises described in the lease, not just the part used for retail trading. In Farmers Arms Tavern Pty Ltd v Barns the leased area was 2,659 square metres and the claim was dismissed.

How long before signing must a landlord give a disclosure statement in Queensland?

Section 21B requires the landlord to give a draft lease and a disclosure statement at least seven days before the tenant enters into the lease. The period can be shortened only if the tenant signs a waiver notice and, unless the tenant is a major lessee, provides a legal advice report. The disclosure statement must still arrive before signing.

Can I terminate my lease if the landlord’s disclosure statement was defective?

Yes, within six months after entering into the lease. Section 21F allows termination by written notice where the landlord did not comply, or the statement was incomplete or misleading in a material particular. Termination is unavailable if the landlord acted honestly and reasonably and you are substantially as well off regardless, but compensation may still be payable.

Can a Queensland landlord charge a retail tenant for land tax?

No. Section 7 expressly excludes land tax on the land the centre or building sits on from the definition of outgoings, so it cannot be recovered from a retail shop lease tenant. The same exclusion covers capital expenditure, sinking fund contributions, loss of profits insurance, insurance excesses and interest on the landlord’s borrowings.

What happens if my retail lease has no option to renew?

Section 46AA requires the landlord to give written notice offering or declining a renewal, three to six months before the end of a lease of one year or less, or six to twelve months for a longer lease. If the landlord gives no notice and you ask in writing before expiry, the lease extends until six months after that notice.

Do I have to attend mediation before taking a dispute to QCAT?

Yes, in almost every case. A retail tenancy dispute must be lodged with the Queensland Small Business Commissioner for mediation, and the mediator refers unresolved matters to QCAT, with four months being the outer limit rather than a fixed waiting period. The only exception is an urgent interim or injunction application, which goes directly to QCAT.