Guide · Commercial leasing
Negotiating a commercial lease you won't regret in five years.
Rent is the number everyone argues about. But it's the terms tenants concede first — options, assignment, make-good, outgoings — that quietly cost the most across a five-year term. This guide shows you which ones to push on, and how.
A 10-page working guide for Canberra and regional NSW, written from live transactions. No theory, no filler.
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“The rent is the number you argue about. The terms are the ones that actually cost you.”
What's inside
Six sections, and what each one saves you before you sign.
Market rent benchmarks, the terms worth pushing on, and the checks to run before you sign — the things that decide whether a lease works for you or against you.
Current market benchmarks
Face rent versus net effective rent across Civic and non-Civic precincts, industrial rates in Fyshwick and Mitchell, and cap-rate benchmarks by asset class — mid-2026, so you negotiate against the market, not the asking price.
The ten terms worth negotiating
Rent reviews, make-good, assignment, options to renew, and outgoings — the terms tenants concede first, and the ones that quietly cost the most across a five-year term.
A worked cap-rate example
A confirmed Fyshwick sale, broken down step by step, so you can test whether a landlord's asking rent sits above what the market actually supports.
How to source your own data
How to pull comparable rents and lease terms directly from the ACT Land Titles Office, and convert a title-sourced gross rent to a net effective rate — so you walk in with evidence, not a hunch.
Where your leverage sits
The three factors that set your negotiating position — and why the incentive conversation should stay separate from the rent conversation.
A pre-signing checklist
Ten items to confirm before you execute, from legal review to fit-out contribution terms — so nothing slips under settlement pressure.
Who it's for
Business owners taking new premises
You are negotiating a lease that will govern your premises — and your costs — for the next five to ten years. The terms you concede now are hard to claw back later.
Owners preparing to sell
When you sell, the buyer takes on your lease. Assignment restrictions and a short residual term are two of the most common reasons a sale falls over.
Investors and landlords
Lease quality drives the value of the asset. Knowing which terms strengthen a lease — and which weaken it — tells you what to hold firm on.
Written by
George Popadalis
Principal · Black Mountain Financial
Black Mountain Financial works with commercial property owners and businesses across Canberra and regional NSW, with 20+ years across banking & finance behind it. We wrote this guide because the same lease terms trip people up again and again — options, make-good, assignment, outgoings — usually after the ink has dried, when they cost the most to fix.
It's what we tell clients to check before they sign. We work with a deliberately small client base — that's intentional.
Read it before you sign, not after.
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General information only — it does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs, and is not legal advice, credit assistance, credit advice, or a finance offer. Market data in the guide is current as at mid-2026 and subject to change; figures are illustrative and deal-dependent. Black Mountain Financial Pty Ltd · ACL 570391.