PLA23 in Practice: What the New Property Laws in Queensland mean for your Commercial Lease
Background
On 1 August 2025 the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld) (PLA23) commenced, replacing in entirety the Property Law Act 1974 (Qld), being the legislation that consolidates the law relating to property in Queensland.
This is the most significant legislative overhaul for property in Queensland in the better part of a century, with implications for commercial leasing and every other property transaction.
To appreciate the scale of change, the 1974 legislation was drafted before the wide use of e-communication, online government registers, video meetings and Microsoft Word documents. Real estate and legal practices have since evolved significantly, and the PLA23 accordingly brings the legal framework into alignment with modern commercial realities and other Australian jurisdictions.
The changes under PLA23 will impact all parties to a commercial lease, including landlords, tenants, assignees and mortgagees. Some of the changes apply retrospectively (it will apply regardless of when a lease was signed) and some changes cannot be contracted out of.
It is important to seek specific and timely legal advice for any lease matters, as a process or procedure under a commercial lease may have changed, such as seeking consent for a sublease or an internal fit out alteration. Further, some procedures under the PLA23 will override any mechanisms drafted in a lease document to the extent of inconsistency.
Summary of key changes under PLA23
New process for seeking consent from Landlords
PLA23 introduces a new procedure for obtaining landlord consent to lease-related matters such as:
assigning, subleasing or sharing the lease;
changing the permitted use of the lease;
mortgaging the tenant’s interests;
carrying out works (such as alternations or internal fit-outs).
At a high-level, the new process is as follows:
This process cannot be contracted out of and is designed to reduce disputes and delays. Under the old laws, we are aware of some extreme circumstances where tenants and landlords were placed in long periods of stalemate or dispute in relation to obtaining consents, exacerbated by slow responses from parties.
This change is favourable for tenants who will have more certainty on timing for their requests.
If the landlord fails to respond in time (or the tenant believes the landlord may have acted unreasonably or onerously), the tenant may have grounds to apply to court to seek a decision on the matter.
Landlords and their agents should carefully consider their processes to review and respond to any requests within the one-month time frame. If there is a complex request (including proposed assignments and subleases), landlords should seek legal advice as soon as possible.
New opportunity for release from liability on second reassignment
Under the old laws, there was some confusion on when a tenant’s liability is released upon assignment (and this was generally resolved under contractual agreement). This is especially important where directors of a tenant may be providing personal guarantees under a lease.
Under PLA23, if a lease is assigned (Assignment A) and then re-assigned (Assignment B), the original tenant (and any guarantor) is released from liability for future breaches by Tenant B from Assignment B.
This change aligns Queensland with other jurisdictions and reduces long-tail liability for outgoing tenants and guarantors.
As part of this new procedure, landlords should review and consider their approaches to seeking security for future assignments.
New standard breach notices and relief against forfeiture
PLA23 introduces a prescribed Form 7 Notice to Remedy Breach, which landlords must use when notifying tenants of a breach. Landlords must now provide breach notices to “designated persons” such as subtenants, guarantors, and mortgagees, if their details are known.
PLA23 also codifies a tenant’s right to seek relief against forfeiture, allowing courts to consider whether a termination of a lease is fair in the circumstances.
What about leases from, between or to charities or not-for-profits?
Charities and not-for-profits that hold a property through a lease arrangement are not exempt from PLA23, even if the lease is held by an informal, peppercorn (i.e $1 rent), or land reserve arrangement. For example, ‘commercial’ leases will include leases for church facilities, kindergartens, schools and community halls, even if the activities are not traditionally viewed as ‘commercial’.
Charities and not-for-profit organisations should be aware that these changes under the PLA23 relate to commercial leases only, and do not necessarily apply to residential tenancy agreements (which have additional legislative overlay).
In some instances, charities may deliver services from ‘residential’ properties (i.e houses and unit blocks used for housing provision, residential care services and aged care services) through commercial lease arrangements, depending on the strategic context. It is important to seek clarity on any leases you or your organisation may have, to ensure you are applying the most appropriate and efficient legal framework.
It may be time to review any internal standardised documents used for lease arrangements, for compliance with the new legislation and alignment with current property use.
What do you need to do?
Many of the changes under PLA23 require new procedures, documentation and new timeframes. It is crucial that all parties to a lease understand their rights and responsibilities under the new laws.
Parties that adopt a standardised lease template should update their precedents to reflect the new laws and to ensure the terms appropriately respond to the new procedures. Other documents may also require updates, including internal processes when managing requests, breaches and communications.
Get in touch
If you require any assistance, get in touch with our dedicated team of Property Law and Leasing experts at: contact@hundtlaw.com.au
This publication is designed to provide an overview for general information purposes only. It should not be relied on as an alternative for legal advice. You should obtain legal and financial advice about your specific circumstances.
Article by Charlotte Watson, Associate & Sarah Hundt, Principal Lawyer