Varying a commercial lease in NSW

Updated: 3 January 2021

Your lease may need to be varied at some point.

For example, if you ask for flexibility from your landlord to reduce rent for changed economic conditions or because your landlord has introduced new terms. 

Below is what you need to know about what’s involved for a commercial lease variation.

Also, it's worth noting that in this article, we’re dealing with NSW law only.

07VL Form

In NSW, To make the change you’ll need to use a form 07VL and lodge this with the land registry. 

Stamp duty

You won’t need to pay stamp duty for a variation that is dated on or after 1 January 2008. You will only need to pay stamp duty if the variation is dated before 1 January 2008. 

Certificate of title

Unlike other land registry transactions, you won’t need the certificate of title to lodge the 07VL variation. 

Lodgement after the lease expires

You can still register a lease variation after a lease expires if:

• The lease is still recorded on the register; and 
• The lease expired less than 12 months ago. A variation of lease that expired more than 12 months ago will not be accepted.
• The variation extends the term of the lease so that it is current at the time of registration. 

How to register the variation

You can register the 07VL form through a law firm or legal agent acting on their behalf. 

Do you have questions or comments? Be sure to leave them below.