Heads of Agreement/Letter of Offer Review

Our fixed-fee Lease HOA/Letter of Offer Review packages start at $900 + GST. This includes reviewing a Lease HOA/Letter of Offer and advising you on your rights and obligations, as well as phone consultations with a Sprintlaw lawyer.

Please note that this package does not include a comprehensive review of the document or any formal written advice. It also does not include tax advice or any direct negotiations or correspondence with the landlord or their lawyers. This scope assumes that the transaction does not involve any employment or other compliance issues.

Sprintlaw operates in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. In Australia, Sprintlaw is a regulated law firm and is an incorporated legal practice with number 32845, regulated by the Law Society of New South Wales.

In New Zealand and the UK, Sprintlaw operates as a legal consultancy and is not a traditionally regulated law firm. We chose to set up as a legal consultancy in New Zealand because it made our expansion into the New Zealand market faster and easier. It also means we have a lower compliance burden and can significantly reduce our overheads when performing legal work. We can then pass these cost savings on to our clients, allowing us to provide high-quality legal services at a fraction of the cost of traditional firms.

So what’s the difference between Sprintlaw NZ’s consultancy model and a traditional NZ law firm? In many respects, we are similar. Like a law firm, we offer legal services to small business clients covering most of their regular legal needs, including drafting and reviewing contracts and providing legal and regulatory advice.

However, there are some important differences and limitations to be aware of:

• Our lawyers: The legal services we provide in New Zealand are not provided by New Zealand-qualified lawyers. Our lawyers are Australian-qualified or UK-qualified lawyers who are familiar with New Zealand laws and requirements, and are able to provide high-quality legal services to New Zealand businesses. Given the strong similarities between Australian, English and New Zealand law, and the areas of law in which we practise, being small business and startup law, we do not view this as having any substantive impact on the quality of our service.
• Reserved areas: We are not permitted to provide services in reserved areas of law under section 6 and section 35 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 (see here). These include appearing in court or conducting litigation proceedings, managing conveyancing matters, or giving advice under the Property (Relationships) Act 1976. Sprintlaw does not operate in these areas.
• Privilege: When working with traditional law firms, advice provided is considered “privileged”. This means correspondence between a client and solicitor can, if made confidentially and for the purposes of legal advice, be withheld from a court or third party in connection with litigation proceedings. As Sprintlaw operates as a legal consultancy, certain advice we provide may not be “privileged” and may instead be treated in the same way as advice from an accountant or another adviser who is not a regulated solicitor or barrister. This does not affect our confidentiality obligations to you, and our engagement letter confirms that any advice or discussions we have will be kept confidential.
• Insurance: Sprintlaw is not required to have professional indemnity insurance that meets the New Zealand Law Society’s minimum requirements. Regardless, Sprintlaw has chosen to maintain professional indemnity cover so our clients still benefit from insurance protection.

In our view, the benefits of engaging a legal consultancy outweigh these limitations, which is why we have chosen to operate this way in New Zealand. If you have any questions, our team would be happy to discuss them with you.

Our review focuses on the key commercial lease terms set out in the Heads of Agreement or Letter of Offer before you move on to the full lease. This can include important points such as rent, term, renewal options, outgoings, fit-out obligations, incentives, make good, assignment and any special conditions that could affect your position.

The aim is to help you understand what you are agreeing to early, identify any risky or unclear terms, and flag issues that may be worth negotiating before the formal lease is prepared.

We support clients across New Zealand through our online-first model. Because we work remotely by phone, email and video call, you can use Sprintlaw from anywhere in New Zealand. Where relevant, we can also support businesses operating across Australia, the UK and other Sprintlaw markets.