Legal Project Management Plan & Checklist
Use this plan when your client is a commercial or retail tenant in Queensland who has received a Notice to Remedy Breach (Form 7) from their landlord and is at risk of lease forfeiture or eviction. Open this file immediately upon receiving the Form 7 - the notice contains a remedy deadline that must be monitored against strict procedural requirements. The plan is designed for solicitors acting for the lessee.
Jurisdiction: Queensland. Retail lease disputes must go through mandatory mediation with the Queensland Small Business Commissioner (QSBC) at 1300 312 344 before any QCAT application can be made. Non-retail commercial lease disputes may proceed directly to QCAT. QCAT has jurisdiction for disputes up to $750,000. Two forks are available: Relief Against Forfeiture Application (where the landlord has already executed a lockout) and Retail Dispute Mediation Referral (where the tenant initiates a dispute against the landlord).
The Process at a Glance: The practitioner opens the matter, executes a retainer, and conducts a conflicts check. The Form 7 Notice to Remedy Breach is analysed under s 153 of the Property Law Act 2023 (QLD) for strict compliance - common defects include failure to use the approved form, the wrong entity name, incorrect arrears calculations, and a remedy period that is not reasonable (the Act sets no fixed number of days; the period must be reasonable having regard to the nature and extent of the breach). The lease document, rent schedule, permitted use clause, and assignment provisions are reviewed in full. All correspondence with the landlord and breach notices are obtained and logged. The landlord disclosure obligations under the Retail Shop Leases Act 1994 (QLD) are audited. The tenant is advised on available defences including waiver, estoppel, and the landlord own breach. For retail leases, a dispute notice is lodged with the QSBC to trigger mandatory mediation. If mediation resolves the dispute, a Deed of Settlement is drafted. If not, a mediator certificate is obtained and the matter proceeds to QCAT. Counsel may be briefed for a contested hearing.
Use this fork when the landlord has already executed a lock-out or peaceful re-entry and your tenant client is on the street. This fork is urgent - s 160 of the Property Law Act 2023 (QLD) gives the power to grant relief against forfeiture to the court, which the Act defines as the Supreme Court, so the application should be filed in the Supreme Court of Queensland immediately, often within hours of the lock-out. Open this fork the moment the client reports being locked out.
Use this fork when your tenant client in a retail lease has identified a dispute with the landlord - such as repair failures, outgoings audit defects, or a disagreement about lease terms - and the dispute must be referred to mandatory mediation with the Queensland Small Business Commissioner (QSBC) before any QCAT hearing can proceed. Open this fork as soon as the client instructs you to contest the landlord's position, whether or not a Form 7 has been received.
Key Legislation and Case Law: Property Law Act 2023 (QLD) (commenced 1 August 2025, replacing the Property Law Act 1974 (QLD)) - s 153 (Form 7 Notice to Remedy Breach: must be in the approved form and state the nature and extent of the breach, that the lessee must remedy it within a stated reasonable period, any reasonable compensation claimed and how it is calculated, and that the lessor intends to terminate the lease if the breach is not remedied; the Act fixes no minimum number of days); s 154 (copy of the notice to designated persons such as guarantors, sublessees and mortgagees); s 155 (acceptance of rent after the notice is not a waiver, subject to contrary agreement); s 156 (no notice needed where the lessor reasonably believes the lessee has given up possession). Retail Shop Leases Act 1994 (QLD) - s 22A (landlord must provide an annual estimate of outgoings before each lease year); s 22B (landlord must provide an audited statement of actual outgoings within three months of each lease year); s 43 (prohibited ratchet clauses in rent review mechanisms are void). QSBC mandatory mediation is a prerequisite for retail lease disputes before QCAT will accept an application. QCAT Form 34 (Application for an order to resolve a retail tenancy dispute) and Form 56 (leave for legal representation). Filing fee for a retail shop lease dispute at QCAT is $405.60 (QCAT fee from 1 July 2026). QCAT is a bear-your-own-costs jurisdiction: each party typically bears their own legal costs regardless of outcome. Applications must be filed within one year of the lease end date. Ratchet clauses preventing rent from decreasing are void under the Retail Shop Leases Act 1994.
* Disclaimer: We're nobody's lawyer, because we aren't lawyers. You are, so you know better than to take legal advice from an app. We also aren't accountants or dog trainers - just digital spirit guides taking zero liability for any of this. This site exists to gather the collective knowledge of practitioners like you. Verify everything and submit your feedback on the Commercial Lease Dispute (Lessee) matter plan to improve the playbook. THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, it's a request for input.
This legal matter plan provides a structured workflow for Property Disputes cases, outlining the standard DISPUTE_LITIGATION process. Utilize these tracking templates to manage your legal cases efficiently.
| Field | Token | Type | Required | Defined in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matter(4) | ||||
| Matter numberⓘ | matter.matterNumber | text | Required | inheritedmatter-core |
| Matter title | matter.title | text | - | inheritedmatter-core |
| Matter typeⓘ | matter.matterType | text | - | inheritedmatter-core |
| Matter status | matter.status | text | - | inheritedmatter-core |
| Client(1) | ||||
| Client name | matter.clientName | text | Required | inheritedmatter-core |
Open the matter file, confirm no conflicts exist, and execute the retainer before any substantive work commences.
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Analyse the landlord Form 7 notice for strict compliance, review the full lease, and audit outgoings disclosures.
Draft and file a Dispute Notice to trigger mandatory mediation and halt eviction.
Participate in the mandatory QSBC mediation conference.
Draft response submissions and represent the tenant at the QCAT final hearing.