Business

Yes – what matters is what you do in practice, not your title. As our article on accidental directorship explains, advisers, investors and board observers can be treated as directors if the board regularly follows their directions or they take part in decisions on the same level as the directors. Directors’ duties are personal, so that can bring personal liability. Keep your role clearly recorded, and talk to our team if you’re unsure where the line sits.

An agreement to lease sets out the main commercial terms – such as the term, rent and rights of renewal – while a deed of lease goes further, covering things like maintenance and what happens at the end of the lease. Only a deed of lease lets a tenant assign the lease, which matters if you later sell your business, and your bank may want to see one. The agreement to lease also binds you to the standard deed terms, even though you haven’t seen them. Read more in An agreement to lease and a deed of lease.

Your deed of lease sets out how and when the rent can be reviewed. Under the commonly used Law Association deed of lease, the three main methods are a market rent review, a CPI adjustment and a fixed rent adjustment, and many leases combine two of them. Most leases also say the reviewed rent can’t drop below the rent payable just before the review. Our article on rent reviews in commercial leases explains each method.

It can. GST isn’t usually charged on residential sales, but if you’re GST-registered and the sale is part of your taxable activity – such as farming or a commercial building – GST may apply, and a sale between two registered parties is typically zero-rated. Getting your GST status wrong in the sale and purchase agreement can leave a seller liable to the buyer. Get legal and accounting advice before you sign – see GST and land transactions.

Start by being clear about why you want to use AI, then check the legal risks – including privacy, confidentiality, intellectual property and consumer law. MBIE’s guidance, which we summarise in Using AI in your business, suggests starting in low-risk areas, keeping human oversight of AI output and setting clear AI use policies. You may also need to update your terms of trade or privacy policy. Talk to our team.