Lease-IQ is an independent lease review service for tenants & landlords of both commercial and residential leases
We equip you with a more informed approach, encouraging better understanding of lease terms.
Our commercial & residential lease reviews are concluded by LLB accredited individuals, registered with the PPRA and RICS
Whether you’re signing a lease on a flat in Cape Town’s southern suburbs or taking on a commercial space for your business, that agreement was drafted by the landlord or their attorney. Every clause, every maintenance schedule, every penalty provision is there for a reason. By the time it reaches you, you usually have a deadline to sign and no one in your corner to explain what it actually says.
Lease-IQ changes that. We review your agreement, identify what you’re liable for, flag anything that should concern you, and give you a clear written breakdown you can use, whether you want to challenge terms before signing or simply understand where you stand right now.
Private tenants rarely have property professionals on speed dial. You’re signing a document that affects your daily life, your finances, and your liability for anything from burst geysers to early cancellation penalties. Most of the time, no one explains any of it. Lease-IQ gives you the same quality of insight that tenants with access to professional advisors have always had.
If you run a smaller or independently owned business, you’re competing for space against tenants whose teams include brokers, attorneys, and property managers. You’re signing leases with operating cost structures, rates recoveries, special levies, escalation clauses, and maintenance provisions that carry significant financial exposure. Lease-IQ was built for businesses exactly like yours.
The experience behind Lease-IQ comes from years of commercial property management, leasing, and renewal negotiations, not as agents, but as the people managing properties on behalf of landlords and portfolios. That background gives us a clear view of how lease agreements are structured, what managing agents look for when they draft them, and where tenant exposure tends to be highest.
We are not a law firm and we don’t provide legal advice. In complex disputes or litigation, an attorney remains the right call. What we offer is something most tenants and smaller businesses have never had access to: an independent, knowledgeable read of your lease at a fraction of the cost of professional legal fees, with a practical written output you can act on immediately.
Lease-IQ offers two tiers of residential review. Both cover your lease in full, the difference is the depth of the output we provide.
A Standard Review covers the core elements of your lease: your obligations as a tenant, maintenance and repair responsibilities, deposit conditions, renewal and cancellation terms, and any clauses that carry unusual risk or that tenants commonly overlook. You receive a written summary in plain language with all findings clearly set out.
A Full Review and Report covers everything in the Standard Review and goes further. You receive a detailed written report with recommendations, options where you may have room to challenge or negotiate specific terms, and guidance on any clauses that warrant closer attention. This is the right choice if you’re entering a new lease in a property you plan to stay in for some time, or if you’re dealing with an issue that has already come up mid-tenancy.
We identify every obligation the lease places on you as a tenant. You will know exactly what is required of you before you sign.
We draw a clear line between what you are responsible for and what falls to your landlord. No ambiguity when something needs fixing.
We review how your deposit is held, what can lawfully be deducted, and what the return process looks like at the end of your lease.
We unpack the annual increase structure and any additional costs in the lease. You will understand what you are actually paying over the full term.
We cover your rights and obligations at renewal and what early cancellation will cost you. No surprises when the lease term ends.
We flag any clause that carries unusual risk or obscures its practical effect. You will know exactly what to question before you commit.
We assess your full liability for rates, insurance, utilities, and building management costs charged in addition to base rental.
We model the compounding impact of your escalation structure across the full lease term. You will know your actual cost exposure at year five, not just year one.
4. Maintenance and Reinstatement
We identify where your maintenance obligation ends and what it will cost to restore the premises to their original condition at lease end.
We assess the renewal provisions in your lease and give you a documented basis for any negotiation before you commit to another lease period.
We identify clauses that carry unusual financial or operational risk and provide specific recommendations on what to address before you sign.
Commercial leases carry substantially higher financial exposure than residential agreements and typically run for longer terms. The structure is also more complex, gross versus net rent, operating cost, rates and utility provisions, special levy exposure, escalation mechanics, and fitout or reinstatement obligations all need to be understood before you commit to a space.
A Standard Commercial Review covers the key financial and operational terms of your lease. It identifies your cost exposure across the full lease term, flags maintenance, reinstatement, and liability provisions, and gives you a plain language summary of the obligations you’re taking on and the clauses worth questioning or clarifying before you sign.
A Full Commercial Review and Report is a comprehensive written analysis of your lease. It covers all financial obligations across the lease term, assesses your risk on costs and liability, provides specific recommendations around terms worth negotiating or pushing back on, and includes practical guidance on renewals where relevant. For independently owned businesses facing a significant lease commitment.
The experience behind Lease-IQ comes from years of commercial property management, leasing, and renewal negotiations
Working with Lease-IQ was a great experience. They took the complexity out of our lease review, explained everything clearly, and gave us confidence that we were making the right decisions. Professional, knowledgeable, and highly recommended.
If you’re looking at a lease and something doesn’t sit right, or you simply want to know what you’re walking into before you sign, contact Lease-IQ. A short call is usually enough to tell you whether we can help and what that would look like.
Step 1 — Book a call You book a short consultation call at no cost and with no obligation. We discuss your lease, your situation, and which service level fits your needs.
Step 2 — Send us your lease Once you’re ready to proceed, you send us your lease agreement. We review it in full and prepare your written summary or report.
Step 3 — Receive your report You receive your written review within the timeframe confirmed at consultation. We’re available to walk you through any findings that need further explanation.
