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ARTICLE · 02 MAY 2023

Relief from forfeiture of a lease option - get it right!

Rostron Carlyle Rojas
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Contractual terms must be met and fulfilled before a lessor can be forced to grant an option under a lease.

AustraliaReal Estate and Construction
Michael Sing
Michael Sing
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Commercial leases usually contain provisions granting a lessee an option to renew a term of the lease upon the fulfilment of certain conditions. Lessors can refuse to grant those options in certain circumstances.

Will a Court exercise its discretion to grant equitable relief against forfeiture in circumstances where, after giving written notice of exercise of an option to renew a lease, a lessee has not complied with conditions for the exercise of the option, and the lease has then expired?

CASELAW

In Replay Australia Pty Ltd v NightOwl Properties Pty Ltd [2023] QCA 76, this question arose.

At trial, NightOwl sought both a declaration that it had validly exercised the first option for renewal and an order for specific performance of the Lease. Further or in the alternative, it sought relief against forfeiture under s 124(2) of the Property Law Act 1974 (Qld) (PLA) or as an equitable remedy. Replay's position was that the Lease had expired in circumstances

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