Avoiding unnecessary Costs at the end of your Office Lease
Get clued-up as to what costs may occur at the end of your office lease.
When companies are moving office, it's all too easy to focus on the more obvious costs such as migration costs, legal fees and the costs relating to moving in to a new premises. But many tenants fail to consider (and account for) the costs that can occur at the end of their office lease.
When it comes to handing your current property back over to your Landlord, there are various tenant obligations that will require you to remove any fixtures and alterations, and put right the property back into the state it was in at the beginning of the office lease. This can prove expensive for some tenants, but should nevertheless be factored into your Moving Office Budget and also timeline as these works can prove costly and can also delay your office move if they are not sufficiently planned for.
It's also worth speaking to the Landlord prior to carrying out the alterations, as the fixtures may even be of use to the next tenant.
If the tenant does not carry out their lease obligations, the Landlord may serve a schedule of dilapidations on the tenant which sets out all items of disrepair and the cost for putting them right. This can prove more costly as there is often additional costs associated with this; such as the cost of the preparation of the Schedule of Dilapidations, as well as additional rent whilst the repairs are being carried out.
Tenants should speak to their Property Solicitor to ensure they are fully advised of their obligations both during and after their office lease.
