Tenants that fail often give notice first, in scraps: a market announcement, a store that closes early, an outgoings bill nobody has paid. When a company does enter voluntary administration, the Corporations Act stops the landlord from taking back the premises for a while. This is what to watch for, and what the first days look like.
The signs that come first
Listed tenants announce things. ASX Listing Rule 3.1 says that once a listed entity becomes aware of information "that a reasonable person would expect to have a material effect on the price or value of the entity's securities", it "must immediately tell ASX that information". ASX Guidance Note 8 quotes the rule that way. A restructure, a run of store closures or a trading halt can be the first public sign.
The appointment is lodged. When an administrator is appointed, they must lodge a notice of the appointment with ASIC before the end of the next business day (s 450A(1)(a)). The administration begins on the appointment (s 435C(1)(a)). The notice goes to ASIC, so the company's record there is the first place to check.
Your own ledger. Late rent, a request to pay "when the next contract clears", staff leaving, stock thinning. These are our own signs, and they can show up before any announcement.
What the moratorium stops
While an administration runs, the Corporations Act restricts the landlord's rights over the premises. The restrictions apply "during the administration", and not only in the first days (s 440B(1), s 440D(1) and s 440F). That means the position can change at the end of the administration, so check the outcome as well as the start:
- A lessor of property the company uses or occupies can't carry out distress for rent over it, and can't take possession of it or otherwise recover it. The restriction lifts only with the administrator's written consent or the court's leave (s 440B(1), table item 3, and s 440B(2)).
- Court proceedings against the company need the administrator's written consent or leave (s 440D(1)). Enforcement process against the company's property needs leave (s 440F).
- A clause that lets the landlord end the lease because the tenant entered administration can't be enforced for that reason (s 451E(1)). The stay runs for the period set out in s 451E(2).
- A guarantee given by a director, or by a director's spouse or relative, can't be enforced against them without the court's leave (s 440J(1)).
Who pays the rent
If the company keeps using the premises, the administrator is liable for rent for any period that starts more than 5 business days after the administration began, for as long as the company uses the property and the administration continues (s 443B(2)).
Within 5 business days of the start, the administrator may give notice that the company does not propose to exercise its rights in the property. While that notice is in force, the administrator is not liable for rent for the period it covers. The company still is (s 443B(3) and (4)). Ask in writing whether that notice has been given, and what the company plans to do with the space.
For example, take a café in Brunswick East whose company enters administration on a Tuesday. While the café keeps trading, rent for periods that start more than five business days later is the administrator's liability, unless the administrator has given a notice under s 443B(3). Rent that fell due before the administration began is a separate question, and it is one to put to the administrator in writing.
The first two days
The law sets a 5-business-day clock and no 48-hour one. This is the practice list we would use. It is not a legal checklist.
- Get the administrator's name and firm from the ASIC notice. Write to the administrator directly.
- Ask whether a s 443B(3) notice has been given, and whether the company will keep occupying the space.
- Don't retake possession, lock anyone out or take goods, unless the administrator agrees in writing or the court gives leave (s 440B).
- Put the rent and outgoings position in writing: what was owing on the day the administration began, and what has built up since.
- Photograph the premises and record the meter readings.
- Diarise the first creditors' meeting. It must be held within 8 business days after the administration begins (s 436E(2)). The normal outcomes are a deed of company arrangement, a creditors' resolution to end the administration, or a resolution to wind the company up (s 435C(2)).
Keep the file ready. The administrator will want the lease, the rent ledger, the outgoings statements, any guarantee, and your condition photographs. Having them in one place saves days.
Once the creditors decide, the picture changes again. The administrator must convene a meeting of creditors within the convening period (s 439A(1)), and the outcome sets what happens next. A deed of company arrangement can change the terms, and a winding up changes what you can claim. Get advice before you agree to anything. For the calendar that sits behind all of this, see our piece on commercial lease option dates in Victoria.
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This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Check your own lease and get advice for your situation.
Sources
- Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), compilation dated 19 September 2026: ss 435C, 436E, 439A, 440B, 440D, 440F, 440J, 443B, 450A and 451E. legislation.gov.au.
- ASX Guidance Note 8, Continuous Disclosure: Listing Rules 3.1 to 3.1B, quoting Listing Rule 3.1. asx.com.au.