The short answer
A make good in Laverton or Laverton North is the end-of-lease work your lease requires before you hand back an industrial site. Many sites here are older factories and warehouses held on long leases, so the main questions are what condition the building was in when you started, what counts as fair wear and tear, and whether asbestos or old electrical work will be disturbed.
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Key takeaways
- 01After a long lease, the start-of-lease condition is often poorly recorded. Gather every photo, report and email you can find.
- 02Fair wear and tear is often excluded from make good, but some clauses still require full repainting or replacement. Read yours.
- 03Older buildings may contain asbestos. The asbestos register must be reviewed before any strip-out.
- 04Overhead cranes, pits, bunded tanks and heavy plant need specialist trades and should be scoped separately.
- 05Laverton North is in the City of Wyndham; Laverton is split between Hobsons Bay and Wyndham. Check your address.
Laverton North is an established industrial area in Melbourne's west, close to the Princes Freeway and the Western Ring Road. Along roads such as Fitzgerald Road there is a mix of older factories, manufacturing plants, depots and newer warehouses. Many tenants have been on site for a long time. Laverton North is in the City of Wyndham. The neighbouring suburb of Laverton, which also has industrial and commercial premises, is split between the City of Hobsons Bay and the City of Wyndham.
That history is what makes a Laverton make good different from a new distribution centre in Truganina. The building is older, the lease may be on its second or third renewal, and nobody may remember what the site looked like on day one.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Your lease decides what you must do. For advice on your obligations, speak to a lawyer or the Victorian Small Business Commission.
What does a make good involve for an older Laverton factory?
The lease clause sets the scope. In older industrial buildings these items come up most often:
| Item | What to check |
|---|---|
| Machinery, cranes and plant | Who installed it, whether the lease says it must go, and whether the landlord wants any of it left |
| Pits, trenches and bunded areas | Whether they must be filled, and how; any oil or chemical residue |
| Tanks and fuel or chemical storage | Removal, cleaning and any landlord request for an environmental check |
| Electrical | Old switchboards, three-phase circuits and machine wiring you added, made safe by a licensed electrician |
| Roof, walls and gutters | Damage caused during your tenancy versus age-related wear |
| Office and amenities | Fit-out you added, patching, painting, floor coverings |
| Yard and hardstand | Clearing stored materials and waste, repairing damage your operations caused |
For racking, line marking and anchor holes, see the Melbourne warehouse make-good page.
What if there is no condition report from the start of the lease?
This is common on long industrial leases. The Victorian Small Business Commission recommends that landlords and tenants agree a condition report at the start of a lease and keep copies, but that is a recommendation, not a legal requirement. Without one, both sides are relying on memory.
Gather what you can:
- photos from when you moved in, including any in old marketing or insurance files
- the original lease, plans and any schedule of the landlord's fixtures
- consents the landlord gave for alterations, cranes or plant
- emails or invoices about repairs during the lease
- any landlord inspection reports
This matters because you usually only have to undo what your lease makes you responsible for. Age-related deterioration of an old building is often a different matter, but it depends on your clause. Our guide to make-good clauses explains the common wordings.
How does fair wear and tear apply?
Many leases exclude fair wear and tear from the make-good obligation. Writing about retail leases, the Victorian Small Business Commission describes make good as typically covering damage above fair wear and tear. Most industrial leases are not retail leases, so your clause matters even more. But wording matters. The Commission also notes that a repainting clause can require repainting to a new condition even if the starting condition was poor, if that is what the tenant agreed. Read the exact clause, and get legal advice if the landlord's schedule seems to treat years of normal wear as damage.
What safety and licence rules apply?
- Asbestos. Older factories may have asbestos in roof or wall sheeting, eaves, pipe lagging or floor tiles. Under the OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic), the asbestos register must be reviewed before refurbishment or demolition work (regs 240 and 241). Removing any friable asbestos, or more than 10 m² of non-friable asbestos (or more than an hour of removal work in 7 days), needs a licensed removalist (regs 246, 250, 264 and 265).
- Electrical. In Victoria, electrical installation work must be done by a licensed electrician and is inspected by a licensed electrical inspector (Electricity Safety Act 1998, ss 38 and 45).
- Cranes and structures. Removing a crane, its runway beams or a mezzanine can be building work. The permit exemption for minor alterations does not cover work that removes load-bearing parts, changes floor area or affects an essential safety measure (Building Regulations 2018, Schedule 3 item 4). Ask a registered building surveyor, and have an engineer check if crane beams are tied into the structure.
What if I disagree with the landlord's make-good claim?
Ask for the claim to be itemised and matched to clauses in your lease. Compare it with your evidence of the starting condition. Get an independent quote for the scope you believe is required. If you still disagree, get legal advice. The Victorian Small Business Commission handles retail tenancy disputes and some other commercial disputes. Its mediation fee for most commercial disputes is $300 per party for a half day and $600 per party for a full day, including GST (Source: VSBC FAQs, read 28 Oct 2026).
How MAKE GREAT helps Laverton tenants
- Get my make-good quotes. We prepare a written brief from the details and evidence you share and invite up to three vetted independent contractors who cover the west. If fewer than three are available, we tell you. An independent quote also gives you a figure to compare with a landlord's claim.
- Analyse my lease. Our lease check lists what your lease appears to require, what is unclear and what the documents do not establish, with page references. It is preliminary, not legal advice, and a person reviews unclear clauses.
You choose the contractor and contract with them directly. Free for tenants. If you hire a contractor through us, they pay us a referral fee. Nobody can pay to rank higher. We do not promise that you will save money.
Get my make-good quotes or analyse my lease. Nearby: Truganina, Port Melbourne, Dandenong and the Melbourne make-good hub.
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Frequently asked questions
I have been in my Laverton North factory for many years and there is no condition report. What now?
Gather whatever you can: photos from when you moved in, the original lease plans, agent's marketing material, emails about repairs and any landlord inspection reports. The Victorian Small Business Commission recommends agreeing a condition report at the start of a lease, but many older leases never had one. Get legal advice if the landlord's claim seems to go beyond what you changed.
Does fair wear and tear come off my make-good obligation?
Often, but it depends on the wording. Many leases exclude fair wear and tear, and for retail leases the Victorian Small Business Commission describes make good as typically covering damage above fair wear and tear. But a clause can still require, for example, full repainting regardless of the starting condition, if that is what the tenant agreed.
Who removes an overhead crane at the end of a lease?
If you installed it and the lease requires the premises returned to their original condition, you are usually responsible for removing it, unless the landlord agrees in writing that it stays. Crane removal is specialist work that often involves riggers, electricians and possibly a structural engineer, so scope it separately.
Is asbestos likely in a Laverton factory?
It is possible in older buildings. Under Victoria's OHS Regulations 2017, the asbestos register must be reviewed before refurbishment or demolition work. Removing any friable asbestos, or more than 10 m² of non-friable asbestos, generally needs a licensed removalist. Ask the landlord for the register before you get quotes.
My landlord's make-good claim seems too high. What can I do?
Ask for the claim to be itemised, compare it against your lease clause and the starting condition, and get an independent quote for the same scope. If you still disagree, get legal advice. Some disputes can go to Victorian Small Business Commission mediation.
Which council do I contact about permits?
Laverton North is in the City of Wyndham. Laverton is split between the City of Hobsons Bay and the City of Wyndham. Confirm the council for your exact address before applying for any permit.
Sources
Primary sources we checked when writing this page. Laws and guidance change, so check the current version.
- 1.Victorian Small Business Commission, Retail leasing rights and responsibilities (Feb 2025) (opens in a new tab)
- 2.Victorian Small Business Commission, FAQs (opens in a new tab)
- 3.Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic), asbestos (opens in a new tab)
- 4.Electricity Safety Act 1998 (Vic) (opens in a new tab)
- 5.Building Act 1993 (Vic), Version 152 (opens in a new tab)
- 6.Building Regulations 2018 (Vic), reg 23 and Schedule 3 (opens in a new tab)
- 7.City of Wyndham (opens in a new tab)
- 8.City of Hobsons Bay (opens in a new tab)