Queensland leasing forms are changing

If leasing is part of your day-to-day business or you are in the middle of a leasing transaction, you will need to be aware of the recent announcement by Titles Queensland in relation to the introduction of their new Form 7 Lease (version 7) and Form 20 – Lease Declaration. These new forms and new processes incorporate more information onto the Form 7 Lease cover page and are being implemented to assist the transition of leasing into the eConveyancing process.

The new forms will be released on Monday, 31 March 2025, with lodgers encouraged to familiarise themselves with the changes now.  An example of the new Form 7 Lease can be found here, and the new Form 20 Lease Declaration here.

Old versions of the Form 7 Lease may still be used until further notice, but they must be lodged with the new Form 20 – Lease Declaration, which provides Titles Queensland with the new information that is to be incorporated in the Form 7. In addition, from Tuesday, 22 April 2025, any previous version of the Form 7 that is lodged or returned due to requisition must include an executed Form 20 Lease Declaration.

Titles Queensland recommends that any outstanding leases on the old version of the Form 7 (version 6) be lodged prior to 22 April 2025.

The Land Title Practice Manual will be updated in due course to provide further details on the key changes outlined below.

What are the key changes to the new Form 7?

The new Form 7 Lease will now incorporate more details and will change the way that some of the existing detail is formatted, aimed to be more user friendly. The following changes will be made:

Item 5 – Description of Premises

Reason: The description of the Premises being leased has been expanded in Item 5 to incorporate more details with respect to the part of the land being leased and the building description. Statements not required can be deleted.  Previously, the author needed to insert these details, without the prompts.

We anticipate this change will reduce the potential of requisition, where the wording was missing one of the relevant identifiers.

Item 7 – Lease Type

Reason: The lease type and area/volume will need to be inserted into Item 7 for further specificity. The available Area/Volume options will be: Square Metres, Cubic Metres, Hectares and megalitres (for leases of Water Allocations). The available types will be: Residential, Commercial, Commercial and Residential, Government and Water. These details will be entered on title.

This will require authors to ensure that they have area information available and practices may need to be updated to accommodate this change. For example, for a whole of lot lease, the author may need to order a copy of the plan to complete.

Item 9 – Previous Leases

Reason: Lessors will be required to make new statements relating to prior/concurrent leases in Item 9 to determine if the proposed lease conflicts with any existing registered leases.

Lessors will be responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the statements. They will be expected to take reasonable steps to verify the statements by checking the title and/or seeking legal advice or advice from the surveyor who prepared a sketch of the premises.

Master sketches are no longer required

Reason: Where a title is affected by multiple leases (for example, for a shopping centre), the Registrar has required the deposit of a master sketch showing all the leased areas prior to the lodgement of leases for registration. This will no longer be required. Titles Queensland will utilise the information in the new Item 9 to process the lease and update the title.

When will the new Form 7 Lease and Form 20 Lease Declaration be available for use?

The forms will be available for download and use on the Titles website from 31 March 2025.

Is it mandatory to use the new Form 7 Lease?

Not initially. Older versions of the Form 7 Lease may still be used until further notice, but they must be lodged with the new Form 20 Lease Declaration.

From 22 April 2025, any previous version of the Form 7 Lease that is lodged or returned due to requisition must include a properly completed and executed Form 20 Lease Declaration.

Can you lodge a lease if it was executed on an old version of the Form 7 Lease?

Yes, but as noted above, the lease should be lodged with a Form 20 Lease Declaration if being lodged on or after 22 April 2025. The Form 20 Lease Declaration can be signed by the Lessor, its representative or solicitor.

The Form 20 Lease Declaration includes the additional information required in the updated Form 7 Lease.

When is Titles Queensland expected to introduce e-lodgement for leases?

Although no specific dates have been confirmed, Titles Queensland has indicated that the process is under development, with the introduction of the new Form 7 Lease designed to facilitate this transition.

What these changes mean for you

• If you have any leases executed on the old version of the Form 7 that are yet to be lodged – we recommend these are lodged prior to 22 April 2025.
• If your organisation is using the old version of the Form 7 (version 6) as a precedent document – we recommend you make the transition to the new Form 7 Lease (version 7) by 22 April 2025.
• If your organisation has pro-forma Agreements for Lease, they should be updated to ensure that the new information is collected and your "authority to complete" clauses in your Agreement for Lease are updated to reflect that additional information in the Form 7 Lease.
• If you are the Lessor, we recommend you obtain a master sketch of the relevant premises prior to entering into a lease to ensure accurate information can be provided in respect of Item 7 and Item 9 in the new Form 7 Lease.
• To the extent that you don't have the details required for the new Form 7 Lease or Form 20 Lease Declaration, you should order the necessary searches and seek the necessary advice to complete.