Do I need a licence to alter for an office fit-out?

Almost always. Most commercial leases prohibit structural alterations absolutely and permit non-structural alterations only with landlord consent. Partitioning, supplementary cooling, kitchenettes, altered lighting, and structured cabling normally require consent even though none of them are structural.

How much does it cost to reinstate an office fit-out?

Cost is driven by floor area, the specification installed, and the standard required on yielding up. Stripping a fitted floor back to CAT A commonly reaches six figures on a full floor plate and runs to tens of thousands of pounds on a small suite. Works affecting structure, services, or fire compartmentation increase this.

What is the difference between a project manager and an employer’s agent?

A project manager administers a traditional building contract where the design is the responsibility of the employer team. An employer’s agent acts under a Design and Build contract, where the contractor carries the design responsibility, and holds the contractual position for the employer through valuations, change control, and completion.

Can the same surveyor act for both landlord and tenant on a fit-out?

No. The roles are opposed on consent, conditions, and reinstatement. An appointment is taken on one side of a transaction only, and any conflict is identified before the instruction is accepted.

When should a surveyor be appointed on an office fit-out?

Before the licence to alter is applied for and before the fit-out is designed in detail. The lease alterations clause determines what may be built and what must be removed, and both are far cheaper to address at that point than after the contractor is on site.

Office Fit-Out Surveyors London and South East

Independent Advice on Office Fit-Out

An office fit-out sits between a lease and a construction contract. Both carry cost, and the two interact. The alterations the tenant installs are governed by the lease and by a licence to alter, and the same works create a reinstatement liability at lease expiry that commonly reaches six figures on a full floor.

The service covers three roles. Tenant-side project management and contract administration of the works. Employer’s agent and cost control on Design and Build appointments. Landlord-side review, consent, and monitoring of works proposed by an occupier.

The survey and contract administration work is carried out by Clayton Ayling, a chartered building surveyor regulated by RICS, acting independently of any contractor or fit-out supplier.

Licence to alter — review, technical conditions, and reinstatement negotiation.
Project management and contract administration under JCT contracts.
Employer’s agent and cost control on Design and Build fit-out.
Schedules of condition before works, and reinstatement liability assessment.

Commercial office interior representing fit-out works, alterations, and reinstatement.

How the Appointment Runs

Before the Works

Review of the lease alterations clause, assessment of the drawings and specification, the licence to alter application and its technical conditions, negotiation of the reinstatement obligation, and a schedule of condition recording the premises before the fit-out begins.

Procurement and Contract

Selection of the contract route, preparation of tender documents, tender analysis, and appointment of the contractor. The contract route is matched to the size and complexity of the works rather than applied by default.

During the Works

Administration of the building contract, valuations and payment certification, instructions and change control, progress and quality monitoring, and management of the interface between occupier, contractor, and landlord.

Completion and Beyond

Snagging, practical completion, collection of as-built drawings, commissioning records and warranties, and a record of the works as built to support the reinstatement position at lease expiry.

Tenant-Side Project Management and Contract Administration

Occupiers carrying out a fit-out face a fixed programme, a rent-free period that is already running, and a contractor appointed on terms the occupier rarely sets. Independent project management holds the position on scope, cost, and time.

The appointment covers the brief and budget, procurement of the contractor, administration of the building contract, valuations and change control, snagging, and practical completion. Contracts are commonly JCT Minor Works, Intermediate, or Design and Build, and the role is matched to the route chosen.

The lease obligations are managed alongside the works rather than after them. The licence to alter is settled before the works begin, the condition of the premises is recorded, and the reinstatement position is understood while it can still be negotiated.

Project Management Licence to Alter Schedule of Condition

Employer’s Agent and Cost Control

On a Design and Build fit-out the contractor carries the design responsibility, and the employer needs an independent adviser holding the contractual position. That is the employer’s agent role.

The work covers the employer requirements, review of the contractor proposals, the cost plan, valuation and payment certification, change control, and the interface between the employer and the contractor through to practical completion.

Cost advice runs alongside it — budget setting at the outset, testing the contractor pricing, controlling variations during delivery, and providing a defensible account at the end. The cost of removing the works at lease expiry is assessed at the same time, because it is a cost of the project even though it falls due later.

Cost Consultancy Office Fit-Out Reinstatement

Landlord Consent, Approval, and Monitoring

A landlord asked to consent to a tenant fit-out is deciding two things at once. What happens to the building during the works, and what can be recovered at the end of the term.

The review covers the drawings and specification against the lease, the effect on structure and loading, fire compartmentation and means of escape, sprinkler and detection coverage, landlord plant and services, and the position of other occupiers. Conditions are then set for how the works are carried out.

The reinstatement position is defined at the point of consent, not at expiry. A licence with a precise description of the permitted works, accurate attached drawings, and a workable notice period produces a claim that can be evidenced. Monitoring during the works confirms that what is built matches what was approved.

Landlord Approval of a Tenant Fit-Out Dilapidations Commercial Building Surveyor

Related Services

Schedule of Condition

A written and photographic record of the premises before the fit-out begins. Without it, a tenant has no evidence of the starting position when the reinstatement demand arrives at lease end.

Learn about Schedule of Condition

Dilapidations

Interim and terminal schedules, reinstatement claims, and negotiated settlements. Fit-out reinstatement is commonly the largest single category in an office dilapidations claim.

Learn about Dilapidations

Project Management

Project management and contract administration across building works generally, including refurbishment and alteration projects beyond office fit-out.

Learn about Project Management

Cost Consultancy

Budget setting, cost planning, tender analysis, valuations, and final account work, including assessment of the cost of removing the works at the end of the term.

Learn about Cost Consultancy

Planning an Office Fit-Out?

Advice on the licence to alter, the contract route, the cost position, and the reinstatement liability the works will create at lease expiry.

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