Under Queensland’s relatively new Property Law Act 2023, a lease of land is deemed to include the standard terms set out in Schedule 1 to the Act, subject to any provision in the agreement to the contrary or to any other act. 

The standard terms are essentially a condensed and abbreviated version of a number of common lease terms including the following (further abbreviated):

  1. The obligation to pay rent when it is due;
  2. The obligation to pay taxes, rates and assessments that are charged on the land, in the proportion that the leased premises bear to the land;
  3. The obligation to keep the premises (excluding structural elements) in good condition and to deliver up the premises at the end of the lease in at least the same repair and condition that the premises were at the start of the lease, subject to reasonable fair wear and tear and certain other exceptions;
  4. That the obligation to pay rent abates proportionately if the premises are damaged so that they become unfit for use and occupation, subject to certain qualifications;
  5. That the lessee must not assign the lease without obtaining consent, and the consent must not be unreasonably withheld;
  6. That the lessee must not act so as to create a nuisance, subject to certain qualifications;
  7. That the lessee must not commit voluntary waste (ie acts that diminish the value of the land);
  8. That the lessor is obliged to give quite enjoyment and not to derogate from the lease;
  9. That the lessee must not use the premises for any purpose other than that permitted under the lease unless there is a consent to the change of use, and the lessor must not unreasonably withhold that consent;
  10. That the lessor can inspect the premises and carry out repairs but in doing so must not unreasonably interfere with the lessee’s use of the premises;
  11. That the lessor can terminate (subject to complying with the notice provisions under the Act) if the rent is not paid for one month after its due date, or the lessee has failed for two months to observe another requirement of the lease;
  12. The lessee must remove its fixtures at the end of the lease and repair any damage caused, and if it does not do so within one month after the end of the lease, the property is taken to be abandoned. 

While most professionally drawn leases will contain provisions which replace the implied terms – for example most leases will treat the failure to pay rent as being a breach either immediately or within 7 days, rather than 30 days – there are some provisions in the implied terms which are not necessarily included many standard leases, for example the obligation for a landlord to act reasonably in relation to a request for consent to the change of use. 

For enquiries relating to leases, please contact our commercial and property lawyers, Peter Muller at peterm@qbmlaw.com.au, Jessica Murray at jessicam@qbmlaw.com.au or Megan Sarroff at megans@qbmlaw.com.au