New Site Selection and Acquisition

At Crea Legal we offer a comprehensive leasing service. We will take you through the maze of site selection, represent you in negotiations with the landlord and complete all the legal work in connection with the lease.

The lease for your premises is your most valuable business asset if you get it right and a devastating liability if you don’t. 

A ‘do it yourself’ approach has potentially dire consequences so don’t risk it!

You shouldn't have to engage a leasing agent to represent you in negotiations and then go separately to a lawyer to conduct the legal work. By handling the entire process we can deliver a more comprehensive and cost effective result and you deal with one person.

Whilst we represent our clients with all due tenacity, we are polite and courteous in our dealings with landlords which allows us to establish and maintain good relationships. This means we get access to the best new site opportunities and achieve superior results in negotiations.  History shows that the overly adversarial approach of many leasing agents can be counter-productive and work to the detriment of the client.

There is often some flexibility in how a deal is structured and knowing where and when to take advantage of this can help achieve a win-win solution for both parties.

Steven Crea, the Principal has worked for major retail landlords and knows first hand how they think and where they can give ground. You will benefit from this inside industry experience and well established connections.

The legal framework established by the retail tenancies legislation in each state provides some protections to retail tenants but if allowed, the Landlords will take a commercial advantage. They are represented by experienced sales professionals and legal teams who do this all day every day. They are driven by delivering the best possible commercial outcome to the land owner and tenants who are not properly represented will fall victim to this. If inappropriate terms are agreed at negotiation stage it can be difficult or impossible for any lawyer to rectify this later so we stress that an acute awareness of the legal position is vitally important at the time of lease negotiations. Make sure you are in the safe hands of an experienced legal professional from the outset.

Lease Renewals

This is the time when your business is vulnerable to the overzealous landlord demanding a sharp increase in rent. Unless an option is agreed (which is very rare in retail leases) there is no legal protection or right to renew the lease on certain terms notwithstanding the fact that you may have established significant good will and customer brand awareness in your current location. It is open to the Landlord to seek a higher rent and because their aim is to increase the value of their asset, generally they will (especially with the benefit of your sales information). The quality of the negotiator will ultimately determine the future of the business. You need a good knowledge of what rent level the market will sustain to work out how hard you can push without compromising your business.

Disputes

Due to the imbalance of bargaining power in favour of the landlords combined with tenants’ lack of awareness of their rights, sometimes landlords achieve a favourable outcome that would be avoided with the sharp eye of a good retail lawyer.  Speak to us if you have an issue with your landlord and we will advise you on whether it is actionable and if so represent you through the process.  There are very cost effective avenues of alternative dispute resolution available to tenants such as mediation so resolving an issue with your landlord using legal means is not as daunting as you may think.