Occupier Office Fit-Out Contact
Information for occupiers on what to send when instructing advice on an office fit-out, a licence to alter, or the reinstatement liability the works will create at lease expiry.
Why the lease comes first
The alterations clause in the lease decides which works need landlord consent and which are prohibited outright. Reading it before the fit-out is designed avoids redesign, and avoids works that cannot be consented at all.
The same documents determine the reinstatement obligation. Removing a fit-out at lease expiry commonly costs six figures on a full floor, and that liability is fixed by the licence to alter rather than by the fit-out contract. It is far cheaper to negotiate at the point of consent than to argue at expiry.
Read more about the service on the Office Fit-Out page.
What to send
If available, the following are the most useful documents at the start of a fit-out instruction:
- The lease, together with any agreement for lease, licences to alter, and side letters.
- Any schedule of condition prepared at the start of the term.
- The proposed layout drawings and specification, at whatever stage they have reached.
- The approximate floor area, the lease expiry or break date, and the target date for occupation.
- Confirmation of whether the space was taken as CAT A, fitted CAT B, or shell and core.
- Any draft licence to alter already issued by the landlord.
What happens next
- The alterations clause and any existing licences are reviewed to establish what requires consent and what the reinstatement position already is.
- The proposals are assessed against the demise, including structure, fire compartmentation, and landlord services.
- You receive advice on the licence application, the contract route for the works, and the reinstatement liability the fit-out will create.
If the fit-out is already under way
Make contact anyway. Works started without consent breach the lease and cannot be protected retrospectively by a licence granted afterwards, but the position is easier to manage the earlier it is identified.
If the condition of the premises has not yet been recorded and the works have not started, that record should be made before anything is stripped out.
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