Areas we serve / Mornington Peninsula / Hastings
Lawyers and solicitors for Hastings
Leases and contracts for local businesses and trades, property, wills and estates for Hastings and Western Port clients, from our Frankston office about 20 minutes away.
What we do for Hastings clients
Choose what you need help with. Each one opens the detail further down this page.
Legal services for Hastings clients
Hastings is the Peninsula’s working town on Western Port, with a port, BlueScope’s steel processing works, a busy marina and mangroves along the foreshore that are among the most southerly in the world. HMAS Cerberus is a few kilometres south at Crib Point, and the Stony Point train line runs through the town to Frankston.
We act for local businesses and tradespeople with leases, contracts and unpaid invoices, for home owners, buyers and sellers, and for families with wills and estates. Radek Dajer, our principal solicitor, acts personally on each matter, in English or in Polish, and we meet at our Frankston office or by video.
Local note
The Stony Point line runs from Hastings, Tyabb and Somerville to Frankston station, a short walk from our office.
Business premises
Leasing a factory or warehouse
Leases of factories, warehouses and workshops are often outside the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic), so the lease itself sets most of the rules. Check these points before you sign.
Tap or point to the gold markers on the drawing.
Business, property and estates in Hastings
Choose a topic to see what it involves and how we help.
Leases of factories, warehouses, workshops and shops, for landlords and tenants.
- Retail or not: the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) covers many shops and service businesses. Offices, warehouses and factories are often outside it, and then the lease itself governs.
- Outgoings and land tax: under a non-retail lease, whether you pay land tax and how your share of outgoings is calculated depends on the lease. Check before you sign.
- Options: under a non-retail lease, a missed option deadline can cost you the option.
- Make-good: the obligation to return the premises to a defined condition varies widely between leases, and the cost can be substantial.
Terms of trade, supply and service contracts, and getting paid.
- Terms of trade: credit terms, late payment interest, personal guarantors and retention of title clauses, which generally need registering on the Personal Property Securities Register.
- Unfair contract terms: since 9 November 2023 it has been unlawful to propose or rely on an unfair term in a standard form contract with a consumer or small business.
- Subcontractors and suppliers: the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic) gives a right to progress payments, with fast adjudication when payment is disputed.
Contract and section 32 review, and settlement for homes, land and commercial property.
- Before you sign: we check the contract, the section 32 statement and the planning controls, and suggest changes while you can still negotiate.
- Cooling-off: for many private sales of residential property, you have 3 clear business days after signing to end the contract. It does not apply to commercial or industrial property, or where the buyer is a company.
- Commercial property: leases, GST and going concern sales, and whether the property has entered the commercial and industrial property tax regime.
Wills, powers of attorney and business succession, probate and family provision claims.
- Wills: executors, gifts, guardians for young children and testamentary trusts.
- Business succession: buy-sell agreements, put and call options and key person arrangements, so your business can continue if you die or lose capacity.
- Family provision claims: must generally be filed within 6 months after the grant of probate or letters of administration.
Owed money on a job?
Subcontractors and suppliers under a construction contract can serve a payment claim under the Security of Payment Act. Deadlines are short and counted in business days, so act as soon as a payment is late.
Unpaid invoices
Recovering a debt, step by step
The early steps cost less, and each one gives the debtor another chance to pay. At every stage we weigh the likely costs against the amount you are owed.
01
Letter of demand
We state the amount, how it arises and a reasonable deadline. If the debtor offers to pay by instalments, we record the arrangement in writing.
02
Choosing where to sue
The Magistrates’ Court hears claims up to $100,000; larger claims go to the County or Supreme Court. VCAT hears disputes about goods and services.
03
Default judgment
In the Magistrates’ Court, if no defence is filed within 21 days after the claim is served, we can apply for judgment without a hearing.
04
Defended claims
Disputed claims under $10,000 are generally referred to arbitration. Larger claims may go to a pre-hearing conference or mediation first.
05
Enforcement
If the debtor still does not pay, the options include an oral examination, a warrant to seize property, attachment of earnings and instalment orders.
How we work
One lawyer, start to finish
Radek Dajer acts on your matter personally, from the first meeting to the final document, settlement or hearing.
Costs in writing
Before any work starts, we tell you in writing how we will charge and give you an estimate, and we update it if things change.
English or Polish
Meetings, advice and explanations of documents in English or in Polish.
Close to Hastings
About 20 minutes from Hastings via the Frankston-Flinders Road, or by train on the Stony Point line.
Visit us from Hastings
435 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC 3199
Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm, by appointment
From Hastings
About 20 minutes by car via the Frankston-Flinders Road.
By train
The Stony Point line runs from Hastings to Frankston station, a short walk from our office.
Parking
Wilson Parking at 453 Nepean Highway, street parking on the Nepean Highway, and the car parks at McDonald’s across the road and at Dan Murphy’s.
Common questions
Can’t see your question? Call 1800 776 529 or send us a message.
Often not. The Act covers premises used wholly or mainly for the retail sale or hire of goods or the retail provision of services. Factories, warehouses and workshops are often outside it, and then the lease itself governs. Whether it applies is a question of fact and law.
Start with a clear letter of demand setting out the amount, how it arises and a deadline. If that fails, we can issue a claim in the Magistrates’ Court or at VCAT, depending on the debt. Most claims for a debt under a contract must be started within six years of the date payment fell due.
Check that the Security of Payment Act applies, then serve a payment claim that meets its requirements. If no payment schedule arrives in time, or it schedules less than you claimed, you may be able to apply for adjudication or recover the amount in court. Get advice as soon as a payment is late.
Not unilaterally, unless the lease or the law gives you that right. The usual routes are a negotiated surrender, or an assignment of the lease to an incoming tenant, often on the sale of the business. Both require the landlord’s involvement.
Our office is at 435 Nepean Highway, Frankston, about 20 minutes by car, or a short walk from Frankston station on the Stony Point line.
Yes. Radek Dajer speaks Polish and can take your instructions and explain your documents in Polish. See our Polish-language services.
Business and leasing insights
The Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) gives retail tenants in Victoria important protections. Learn about disclosure statements, minimum lease terms, rent reviews, and how to resolve disputes at VCAT.
When a debtor fails to pay, knowing the correct legal steps can mean the difference between recovering your money and writing off the debt entirely.
Signing a commercial lease is one of the biggest financial commitments a business can make. A lawyer can identify risks before you are locked into a long-term obligation.
Talk to us about your Hastings matter
Tell us briefly what has happened or what you are planning. We will explain your options, the next steps and how we charge. Call 1800 776 529 or send us a message, Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm.
