Record lease arrangements that do not sit neatly in the main lease

This service is commonly used by tenants and landlords who have agreed a specific arrangement that sits alongside the main lease rather than replacing it. That might involve a temporary rent concession, a special fit-out arrangement, a short-term occupancy change, extra time before a condition is met, or consent-related wording connected to assignment or use of the premises. It is often a good fit where the commercial agreement is relatively focused, but the parties still want the wording checked carefully so it does not create confusion with the existing lease terms.

The biggest problems usually arise when the side letter says something that is unclear, inconsistent with the lease, or too informal to show exactly what was agreed. For example, a rent concession may not say how long it lasts, whether it is conditional, or what happens if the tenant defaults later. Occupancy or assignment wording can also cause issues if it appears to override lease restrictions without saying so clearly. A side letter may be short, but it still needs to work properly with the lease and the surrounding commercial context.

The service includes a consultation about the arrangement you want recorded, drafting or review of the lease side letter, and legal input on how that document fits with the main lease. We can advise on common side-letter issues such as rent, term, assignment, occupancy and landlord consent points. This is not the same as full lease renegotiation or open-ended dispute work. The fixed-fee covers this scoped work and follow-up legal questions within that scope, but not tax advice or ongoing representation after the agreed work is completed.

It can, but whether it does so effectively depends on the wording, the lease terms and what the parties have actually agreed. Some side letters are intended to clarify a point, while others record a temporary concession or a carve-out from the usual lease position. If the drafting is vague, the parties may later disagree about whether the side letter was meant to vary the lease, sit alongside it, or only apply in limited circumstances. That is why it is important to review the lease and the side letter together rather than treating the side letter as a standalone note.

It helps to provide the current lease, any deed of variation or prior side letters, and the emails or heads of agreement that show what has been discussed between the parties. We also need a clear explanation of the commercial arrangement you want recorded, such as a rent adjustment, occupancy change, consent issue or timing concession. Those details matter because a side letter often turns on the exact interaction between the agreed commercial point and the wording already sitting in the lease.

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 Lease Side Letter 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.