Office refit - inform landlord?

Office refit - inform landlord?

Author
Discussion

warp9

Original Poster:

1,583 posts

196 months

Thursday 28th July 2016
quotequote all
Hi. We currently rent a one floor office of around 6,000 sqft in an 'L' shape. It's fairly open plan with a couple of offices at each end.

Due to some internal changes we want to get rid of the offices at one end to create a complete open plan space and the other side create 5 new offices.

What are my obligations to inform the landlord and do I need to obtain any permissions from the council? Also, are there any health and safety requirements to meet?

Thanks in advance.

Ean218

1,959 posts

249 months

Thursday 28th July 2016
quotequote all
Well I certainly wouldn't tell the council anything. You might need to think through your fire precautions.

As far as the landlord is concerned the details will be in your lease. They may well have the right to charge you just for thinking about it.......

iphonedyou

9,234 posts

156 months

Thursday 28th July 2016
quotequote all
Ean218 said:
Well I certainly wouldn't tell the council anything. You might need to think through your fire precautions.

As far as the landlord is concerned the details will be in your lease. They may well have the right to charge you just for thinking about it.......
As above, check your lease for obligations to inform and limitations thereafter on changes you can make.

Generally speaking most tenants go ahead with fairly non-structural changes (adding an island unit to a tea-point area, glazed partitioning to open plan floor areas, etc.) and it's all washed out in the delaps schedule when they move on.

The changes you allude to do feel fairly material to me, insofar as they fundamentally change the floorspace. I'd definitely be checking the lease, almost certainly informing the landlord and without a doubt expecting to pay for reinstatement to the layout at lease start on your moving on.

Edited by iphonedyou on Thursday 28th July 12:58

warp9

Original Poster:

1,583 posts

196 months

Thursday 28th July 2016
quotequote all
The only bit in our lease that I can find that refers to making changes states

'The Tenant shall not make any alteration to the Property without the consent of the Landlord, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, and of the Superior Landlord in accordance with the terms of the Superior Lease.'

I guess the crux here is what constitutes an 'alteration to the property'. I have passed this on to my solicitor for review.

After meeting the contractor earlier, his response was that as what we are doing is temporary and classed as demountable walls, then the landlord not need know!

I'm more of the it's better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission camp.

Rob_H

108 posts

242 months

Thursday 28th July 2016
quotequote all
Based on the terms of the lease surely you'll have to inform them and a license to alter agreed. this will impact your dilapidations liability at lease end and likely to remove / re instate accordingly. You may also need Building Control approval if you are messing with layouts for means of escape, fire detection and the like. Are you putting air con in ? ventilation of air to rooms / heating and lighting alterations ? etc. (obviously i've not seen any layouts) but these are the possibilities. Likewise any alterations you'll need an asbestos survey subject to property age.

Kind regards

Rob

Cyberprog

2,186 posts

182 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
Also if the walls are structural or just partition that'll make a big difference.

You should also realise you may have to return the property to the same condition when you move out, unless the landlord is happy to waive that obligation.

Tom_C76

1,923 posts

187 months

Friday 29th July 2016
quotequote all
You need to ensure that any new internal rooms you form have sufficient fresh air supply. You need to talk to Building Control to ensure that you meet means of escape from fire.

And based on the line you quote from your lease you very clearly do need the Landlord's permission to alter.

dfen5

2,397 posts

211 months

Saturday 30th July 2016
quotequote all
The landlord will issue a license to allow you to do it. If he/she finds you have made changes without you're in breach of the lease.
My last place I had to take out what some may consider as improvements (sockets, distribution boards etc) and take down partitions. If I had removed any offices I would have been liable for their reinstatement.

surveyor

17,768 posts

183 months

Saturday 30th July 2016
quotequote all
As others have said you need LL consent.

For future ref, I always try and negotiate within the alterations clause to allow removal, addition and relocation of demountable partition walls and associated works shall not require Landlords consent, although the Tenant shall deliver a plan of the revised layout within 14 days.

Tenant obviously still on hook to sort for dilaps at the end of the lease, but it prevents LL taking the mickey on license costs.