Queensland’s New Property Law Act: What Commercial Tenants, Landlords and Property Agents Need to Know
From 1 August 2025, the Queensland Property Law Act 2023 (The Act) introduced changes to how some leases operate in Queensland. Many of the changes cannot be contracted out of and will apply even if the lease was signed prior to 1 August 2025.
Below is a summary of the obligations and limitations being imposed by the Act. Importantly, the resources and information below are not legal advice, and are not intended to be a substitute for legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should Seek Legal Advice to understand how the changes may affect your specific situation.
New Landlord Consent Process
A more defined process (including a ‘proposal notice’ from tenants and ‘decision notice’ from landlords (section 142)) has been introduced when tenants seek landlord consent to:
- Assign the lease
- Sublease, or part with, or share possession of the premises
- Propose to change the use of the premises permitted under the lease
- Mortgage the tenant’s interest in the lease
- Alter the premises or carry out works
This process will apply to all leases, regardless of whether entered prior to the Act commencing (section 255(1)).
Changes under section 142 and Schedule 1(5) will also include:
- If the landlord considers the information provided in the Proposal Notice is not sufficient to make a decision, they may give the tenant a notice requiring further information to facilitate their decision-making (section 142(4)).
- The landlord has one month to respond once they have received all necessary details of the tenant’s proposal (section142(5)).
- If they take too long or refuse without a good reason, tenants can apply to the court for a determination (section 142(8)).
- That a landlord must not unreasonably withhold consent (this provision cannot be excluded) (section 142(3)).
Further changes for an Assignment of the Lease
- Once a tenant assigns their lease and it is re-assigned again, they (and their guarantors) are fully released from liability for anything that happens after. This applies even if the lease says otherwise (section 144).
- The Act clarifies that the rights and obligations of parties are enforceable after an assignment or transfer, regardless of whether they touch and concern the land or not, with some exceptions (section 143).
When Property Sold or Ownership Transferred
- Lease rights and obligations (including covenants) will stay in place even if the land is sold or the property otherwise changes hands (Section 140).
- Registering the transfer is not in itself actual notice to the tenant of the transfer. The buyer should send notice of their purchase to the tenant. Until they do that, the lessee can continue paying rent only to the seller and has no liability to pay the rent or outgoings to the buyer (section 141).
Refusing an Option to Renew or Option to Sell
- The landlord may refuse an option to renew, or option to sell the premises (section 164) where a tenant has failed to meet a condition on that option under the lease (for example they have breached the lease or not properly exercised the option and the renewal or sale is conditional on that). The landlord can only refuse if they have given the tenant a breach notice within 10 business days after:
- the tenant gives notice exercising the option to renew or purchase the property, or
- the date the breach occurs, if it occurs after the option notice is given.
- If the landlord gives the tenant such a breach notice, they must also notify all ‘designated persons’ whose name and address is known to the landlord (section 165).
- Tenants have a right to apply to a court for relief (effectively a court order) against lessor’s refusal of options to renew or option sell to lessee if contained in the lease (section 166).
- The Tenant or a designated person then has one month from receiving the breach notice to apply to the court for relief (section 166(3)).
New Breach Notices and Prescribed Forms
- A suite of new prescribed forms have been created for the Act.
- A formal notice called a notice to remedy a breach must be given by a landlord to the tenant before they can end the lease or take back the property (section 153).
- The notice must be in the prescribed form (Form 7 Notice to remedy breach) that:
- states the breach;
- outlines the step to remedy the breach, providing a reasonable time to do so; and
- outlines the reasonable amount claimed in financial compensation, if relevant.
- Landlords must consider the nature and extent of the breach, in determining the reasonable time for a breach to be remedied (section 153(2)).
- Landlords must provide a copy of the Notice to remedy breach to other interested parties, referred to as a ‘designated person’ including a sublessee, guarantor, mortgagee or any assignor where they have not been released (section 154). These obligations apply only if the landlord knows the name and address of the ‘designated person’.
- If a tenant abandons the premises, the landlord does not have to give a breach notice but must still notify all ‘designated persons’ before re-entering (section 156).
- Section 158 applies if a landlord applies to the court for recovery of possession and section 160 explains that a tenant may apply to the court for relief (effectively a court order) but time limits may apply.
Tenancies at Will and Periodic Tenancies
- There is a 20-business day notice period before termination for leases that can be ended “at will” (where there’s no agreement for the tenant to stay longer) (section 174).
- Under a periodic tenancy, either party can terminate the lease (without reason) on the last day of the next period of the tenancy (termination date) by giving a termination notice at least 1 whole period that rent applies before that date. (e.g. for a month-to-month agreement, at least a month before the termination date). (Section 175)
Standardised Terms
The Act brings together and incorporates standard terms into every lease (Schedule 1). Standard terms can be negotiated (changed or removed) if both parties agree, unless prohibited by the Act or rules that apply from another Act (S139).
Some of the key changes with the standardisation of terms include:
- Unless the lease says otherwise, tenants must pay the landlords taxes, rates, and other assessable charges on the land or premises, based on the proportion of leased premises to the area of the land (Schedule 1(2)).
- A ‘relevant cause,’ as defined in the Act, refers to events that could damage or destroy the premises. If this happens, rent and outgoings can be reduced or paused until the premises are suitable for the tenant to use again (Schedule 1(4)).
- A tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment has been explicitly included into the Act (Schedule 1(8)) ensuring the landlord cannot interfere with the tenant’s peaceful occupation of the leased premises. However, the landlord may at all reasonable times enter the premises for specific purposes but must not unreasonably interfere with the tenant’s occupation and use of the leased premises (Schedule 1(10)).
Read the full Property Law Act 2023 here:
Find the Relevant Property Law Forms here:
Read our newly revised resources when they are released on 1 August 2025 including:
Could your lease also fall under the Retail Shop Leases Act 1994?
Read our article: What is a Retail Shop Lease in Queensland.
To discuss your situation, and get connected with people that can help, reach out to our Assistance team.
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