Check your break notice before lease exit problems grow

This service is commonly used by tenants planning to exercise a break right, tenants who have already served notice and want to check their position, and landlords who have received a notice and need advice on whether it is effective. It can also help where the parties are already discussing an early exit but the lease contains formal break conditions that still need to be analysed. The key point is that the answer usually depends on the actual lease wording, the notice that was given, and what has happened between the parties so far.

Break notices often become contentious because the lease may require more than simply sending a letter by a certain date. Problems can arise with timing, the method of service, the exact wording of the notice, whether the correct party gave it, and whether conditions attached to the break right have been satisfied. Depending on the lease, those conditions might involve payment of rent, giving vacant possession, remedying breaches, or complying with other procedural steps. A notice can look valid on its face but still be challenged if one of those underlying requirements has not been met.

We review the notice itself, the relevant lease provisions and any supporting correspondence needed to understand the context. The advice usually addresses whether the notice appears valid, what conditions may still need to be satisfied, what risks remain before the break date, and what practical steps should follow. For example, we may comment on service issues, rent or occupancy points, or whether the lease wording creates uncertainty around the right being exercised. You receive written advice rather than a generic checklist, because the lease terms often drive the outcome.

Yes. If you are a landlord who has received a tenant's notice, or a tenant who has received a notice or response raising objections, we can review the documents and explain the legal position based on the lease wording and the surrounding facts. That may include whether the notice appears effective, whether any conditions remain in issue, and what response options are available. If the matter is already moving into a broader dispute or active negotiation, that may require a separate scope because ongoing representation is not automatically included in this service.

It helps to send the signed lease, any deed of variation, the break notice itself, related emails or letters, and a short timeline of what has happened so far. If there are issues around rent, occupancy, make good or access, include that background too because those facts can affect the advice. Once we have the material, we review the documents, identify the main risk points and provide written advice on your position and the next steps available. If further work is needed after that, we can outline separate options.

Just submit an enquiry via this page or click the 'get started' button on our website to submit an enquiry. After you've submitted an enquiry, one of our legal consultants will review your enquiry within 1 business day and get in touch to get a better idea of exactly what you are looking for.

Then your legal consultant will send through an email with a bit more information about the services you need, along with a fixed fee quote setting out costs, scope of the service and timing. Have a read through it, and if you're happy with the scope, you can accept and sign our engagement letter online - easy!

Once you've formally accepted, we'll connect you with a specialist lawyer and they will work with you to complete your project. They will contact you by email or phone if they need to get in touch.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Break Notice Review service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We operate completely online, which means we can help you wherever you are in New Zealand. We have office spaces in Sydney, and in Melbourne, but our use of technology allows our team members to work remotely from around the world. Our legal team are mostly based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. We also have a London office for Sprintlaw UK.

Our legal team is made up of experienced lawyers, who are specialists in various areas of law and hold an Australian legal practising certificate. None of our Sprintlaw lawyers are New Zealand qualified lawyers and they do not currently hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

They provide legal services working remotely from Australia via our 'legal consultancy' model, through which (under section 6 and section 35 of the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006) our Australian legal team are permitted to provide legal services to New Zealand businesses provided they do not provide services in certain 'reserved' areas of law. You can read our FAQ page to learn a bit more about our 'legal consultancy' model.

Given the strong similarities between Australian and New Zealand law, and the areas of law in which we practice (being small business and startup law), we do not view the fact that our lawyers have not qualified in New Zealand as having any substantive impact on the quality of our service. We are committed to ensuring that we provide high quality, affordable legal services to all our New Zealand clients.

Our legal team have all trained at leading firms, but have left the traditional corporate law world to join us on our mission to create a new and better way of delivering legal services. They have specialist expertise in technology law, intellectual property law, contract drafting and review, corporate law and commercial law.