Background
The Department of Human Services has established three (3) versions of a standard lease agreement which are to be applied in circumstances where an organisation has been contracted to deliver services from:
- domestic dwelling located on freehold land owned by the Secretary, DHS (DHS Residential Lease);
- other than a domestic dwelling located on freehold land owned by the Secretary, DHS (DHS Freehold Lease);
- any facility located on Crown land controlled by the Secretary, DHS (DHS Crown Lease).
The purpose of implementing a lease agreement is to ensure that the responsibilities and obligations of both the Secretary, as owner/controller, and the funded organisation, as occupant, are clearly identified and managed.
Terms and Conditions
The lease documents have been endorsed by Legislation and Legal Services as being suitable to meet the Department’s requirements for leasing DHS freehold and DHS Crown property.
The lease is to be offered to funded organisations on the basis that it is the Department’s standard lease document and its clauses are not subject to alteration.
The lease document is a proforma and requires information to be inserted at each location identified with a square bracket ie. [ ].
The location and information required for insertion at locations identified with square brackets are as follows:
- Cover Page
The address of the Premises
- Execution Page
The signature block used by the Lessee on legal documents.
Schedule 1
Item 1.2 – Act
The name/s of the Act/s of the Victoria Parliament under which the Agency delivers services.
Schedule 2
Item 1
- Lessee’s name - The name used by the Lessee on legal document
- Lessee’s address - The business address of the Lessee
Item 2
- Premises - The street number, street name, and locality of the property subject to the lease
- Land - The volume number and folio number recorded on the Certificate of Title for Freehold Land; or the Reservation Number, Parish Name, Section Number and Allotment Number (Crown description) for Crown land.
Item 3
- Term - The period, expressed in “years”, during which the lease is to operate.
Item 4
- Commencement Date - The date from which the Lease is to become effective (usually the date that the Lease is signed by the delegate of the Secretary, DHS (DHS Freehold); or by the delegate for the Minister responsible for the Crown Land (Reserves) Act (DHS Crown Land).
Item 6
- Outgoings Proportion (Not part of DHS Residential Lease) - The percentage that the area occupied by the Lessee represents to the gross lettable area
Item 9
- Address for Service of Notices (Item 7 in DHS Residential Lease) - The address to which the Lessee requires Notices to be delivered.
Facilities subject to Lease Agreements
Lease agreements can be applied to any facility developed for delivery of human services, eg. Community Residential Units, Family Group Homes, Community Care Units, Community Health Centres, Integrated Care Centres, Acute Psychiatric Inpatient Facilities, Hostels, and Nursing Homes.
Property subject to Lease Agreements
Lease agreements are to be applied to DHS freehold property and Crown property under the control of the Department. The lease agreement can refer to either the whole or part of the area identified in the Certificate of Title or Crown description.
Where the lease agreement is to be for only part of the area identified in the Certificate of Title or Crown description, the leased area is to be identified on a survey plan. The survey plan will be arranged by Capital Management Branch.
Process for implementing Lease Agreements
When it is determined that a funded organisation is to deliver services from DHS property and a lease agreement is to arranged, the following action is to occur:
- The Regional Office is to prepare a draft lease based on the appropriate proforma (DHS Freehold Lease/DHS Crown Lease) by adding the information required on the Cover Page, Execution Page and the Schedules (except for Item 2 of Schedule 2).
- The draft lease document is then to be forwarded via cc:Mail to Manager, Property & Assets, Capital Management.
- CMB is to complete the property details required at Item 2 of Schedule 2, arrange for a survey plan for Premises involving less than the total area of the property, and is to return the draft lease to the Regional Office via cc:Mail.
- The Regional Office is to produce two (2) copies of the lease document and arrange for them to be signed and sealed by the Lessee.
- The Regional Office is then to arrange delivery of both signed lease documents to CMB who will arrange for signature by the delegate of the Secretary, DHS; and for Crown land also by the delegate of the Minister responsible for the Crown Land (Reserves) Act.
- One signed copy of the lease documents is to be retained by CMB and the other copy will be returned to the Regional Office who is to forward it to the Lessee for its records.
- CMB will maintain a register of all executed lease agreements.
Enquiries and further advice
Further enquiries can be directed to the Property & Assets Unit, Capital Management Branch on telephone 61 3 9616 8038 or 61 3 9616 7034.
