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Negotiate a telco lease over your land

We review and negotiate telco lease and licence agreements for landowners, on deals that can run for decades.

Carriers approach landowners with standard agreements for towers, antennae and other infrastructure. Those agreements are written entirely for the carrier. They can bind your land for twenty years or more with very little room to exit or renegotiate. We act for landowners, so the terms are workable for you before you sign, not explained to you afterwards.

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Rent at a market rate

You negotiate from advice on what the site is worth to the carrier, rather than accepting the opening offer.

A review mechanism that keeps up

The rent is indexed or reviewed properly, so a fair figure today is still a fair figure in fifteen years.

Your land comes back

Make-good and upgrade rights are defined tightly enough that the footprint cannot grow and the equipment has to go.

What a telco agreement actually commits your land to

An agreement between a carrier and a landowner is a private contract, and the commercial terms are not set by any regulator. The Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth) gives carriers certain rights to carry out low-impact work. But the rent, the term and the obligations are all negotiated between the parties.

Carriers offer a standard form, and it is consistent in shape. A modest initial rent. A weak or absent review mechanism. Broad rights to install, upgrade and expand equipment. Wide assignment rights. A make-good obligation drafted loosely enough to be hard to enforce.

None of that is unreasonable to ask for. It is just written from one side. The length of the term is what makes it matter. A decision made in an afternoon governs part of your land for longer than most mortgages.

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What is the difference between a telco lease and a licence?

A lease gives the carrier exclusive possession of the area and creates an interest in the land that can be registered on the title. A licence gives a contractual right to use the land but creates no interest and cannot be registered. The difference matters most if you sell, because it affects whether the arrangement binds the buyer. We advise on which suits your circumstances.

Can I negotiate the rent?

Yes. Carriers present their agreements as standard form, but the rent, the review mechanism and the initial term are all negotiable. Market rates vary with the location, the type of infrastructure and what alternatives the carrier has. The opening offer is rarely the best available. We advise on the rate and negotiate the financial terms.

What happens if the carrier sells its network?

Most agreements let the carrier transfer to a related body or an infrastructure company without asking you. Your counterparty can change completely. You get no right to renegotiate and no right to exit. We negotiate assignment restrictions so you at least get notice, and where possible a right of consent.

Can they add more equipment later?

Under a standard form, usually yes. Carriers include broad rights to upgrade, modify or expand equipment during the term without separate consent. That can mean substantially more infrastructure than you pictured when you signed. We negotiate these provisions so material changes to the footprint need your agreement.

An agreement that looks simple today can bind your land for decades

The starting rent, the review mechanism, the upgrade rights and the make-good all have to be right before you sign. Over a twenty-year term, each one is worth many times the cost of getting it negotiated.

A twenty-year decision is usually made in an afternoon

A carrier has approached you about infrastructure on your land. The rent looks reasonable and the paperwork looks routine.

But the standard form deals with equipment upgrades, assignment and make-good on terms that heavily favour the carrier. Sign it and you have committed a part of your property for two decades, on terms you cannot easily change.

We will review the carrier's proposed agreement and identify the terms that need to be negotiated.
We will advise on market rent and negotiate the rent and the review mechanism.
We will negotiate the assignment, upgrade and make-good provisions to protect your position.
We will advise on whether the arrangement should be a lease or a licence.

The offer looks good. The agreement behind it runs for twenty years

A carrier wants to use part of your land, and the rent is more than that corner of the property currently earns. It is easy money and it looks straightforward.

But you have not read the assignment clause, or the upgrade rights, or what the make-good actually requires when they eventually leave. You are willing to do the deal. You want the terms right first, because this one will still be running long after you have stopped thinking about it.

What's included in your telco agreement review service

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Full review of the carrier's proposed agreement.
Advice on market rent and negotiation of the financial terms.
Rent review mechanism negotiation.
Assignment, upgrade and make-good provisions negotiated.
Advice on lease versus licence structure and registration.

What goes wrong when the standard form is signed as offered

Rent is the compounding loss. A below-market starting figure with no effective review means you are still on that figure in fifteen years. Inflation does the rest.

Make-good is the one that surfaces at the end. A vague obligation to remove equipment and reinstate is difficult to enforce against a carrier who has moved on. You can be left with a concrete pad and a compound on land you wanted back.

Assignment is the one nobody sees coming. Broad transfer rights mean the counterparty you negotiated with can be replaced by an infrastructure company you have never dealt with. No consent required, and no right to renegotiate.

Because the terms are long, none of these correct themselves. A poor position at the start simply persists.

How we make the agreement work across the whole term

We read the proposed agreement and tell you which provisions need to change before you sign. That list is usually shorter than landowners fear and more important than they expect.

We advise on what the site is worth to the carrier and negotiate the rent and a review mechanism that keeps up.

Then we tighten the three clauses that decide the long-term position. Assignment, so you know who you are dealing with. Upgrade rights, so the footprint cannot quietly grow. Make-good, specified enough that the land comes back to you.

Three steps to a telco agreement that works for you

Terms reviewed, rent negotiated, obligations defined before you sign.

Review the offer

We read the carrier's proposed agreement and identify the provisions that need to change before you commit.

Negotiate the terms

We negotiate the rent and review mechanism, and tighten the assignment, upgrade and make-good provisions.

Finalise and record

We settle the agreed terms, advise on whether it should be registered, and confirm the arrangement is properly documented.

Telco lease and licence review, from the landowner's side

Landowners are usually dealing with a carrier for the first time, and the carrier does this constantly. The agreement is presented as standard, which is true, and as non-negotiable, which is not.

We review and negotiate these agreements from the landowner’s side. We know which provisions move and which do not. We know what the rent should look like for the site, and which clauses create real exposure over a long term. Our job is to fix the agreement before you sign it. We are an ISO 9001 accredited practice. How your matter is run, who does the work and what you get told are all defined and externally audited.

Our great lawyer guarantee

Six principles we hold to, whatever you bring us and however long it takes.

Take the time

We listen carefully to understand what you want to achieve, then step you through the advice and the documents.

Share our knowledge

We pass on as much as we can, so you can make your own informed decisions.

Stick to our knitting

We only do what we are good at, so you never pay for our learning.

Work as one team

Someone is always available to answer your question or point you the right way.

Fair pricing

A fixed or capped quote for advice and documents, so you do not carry the price risk.

It is your show

We are in it for a front row seat to witness your success, not for our egos.

Ready to have the carrier's agreement reviewed

A telco agreement is a long commitment made from a short conversation. The terms are more negotiable than the standard form suggests, and the time to test that is before you sign. Send us what the carrier has offered and we will tell you what to change.

Speak to a lawyer 1300 654 590