A message to Agents and Accountants

Your Risk

The law says that it is illegal for anyone other than a lawyer to charge for providing legal services.

Preparing leases is a legal service. Your professional indemnity insurance may not cover you from doing anything other than providing the lawful services of an Agent or Accountant.

If you arrange for a lease for your clients without involving a lawyer or licenced conveyancer then you are the supplier of the service. If there is anything wrong with the lease or the way that it is completed then you may be held liable.

Refer to “Accountants cannot give legal advice: what that means for them, their clients and the lawyers” by Chris Wallis, Barrister, Victorian Bar (Greens List) in Taxation in Australia.