What the lease may require
Typical clauses ask the tenant to remove improvements, repair damage, patch walls and floors, and remove signage and cabling. Some leases let alterations stay if the landlord agrees.
Read the language on alterations before you design, and ask which items must be removed.
Some tenants find that cabling, signage anchors and floor coverings are the items most often disputed. Get a clear answer on each.
Plan during construction
Choose approaches that are easier to undo. Document where cabling and equipment run, record which finishes are tenant-installed, and keep drawings of the finished space.
Items the landlord agrees in writing can stay need not be priced for removal.
Take dated photographs at handover of the original space as proof of its starting condition.
Budget for the exit
Set aside a sum for restoration, particularly for large changes such as mezzanines, kitchens and specialty rooms. The amount depends on the scope, and early estimates reduce guesswork.
We can price restoration scope based on the drawings we hold from your original build.
Coordinating the exit
Plan removal work well before the lease ends. Electrical disconnection, equipment removal, cabling clean-up and patching are all done more cheaply when scheduled than in a rush.
Our own electrical, interior systems and painting crews can handle the full restoration under one schedule, and we can arrange a pre-return walk-through with the landlord.
Questions we hear
Can I negotiate restoration terms?
Yes. It is best done before signing, when the landlord is most flexible on how the space is returned.
Can I leave improvements behind?
Sometimes, if the landlord agrees in writing. Ask before you build.
Do you do restoration work?
Yes. Our electrical, interior systems and painting crews can restore a space under one schedule.