Office make good, explained for tenants

An office make good is the work you do before you hand the keys back, so the office is in the condition your lease asks for. The lease decides what that condition is.

This page explains what an office make good usually involves, what to check in your lease, what changes in a CBD tower, and how to get quotes you can compare. It is general information, not legal advice. If your lease wording is unclear or you are in a dispute with your landlord, talk to a lawyer or your state's Small Business Commission.

What does an office make good usually include?

There is no standard office make good set by law. In Victoria, the Retail Leases Act 2003 has no "make good" provision at all, so the obligation comes from your lease. The NSW Small Business Commission's retail tenancy guide describes make good as returning premises to the condition when first built, the condition at the start of the lease, "or some other condition as specified in the lease".

In practice, an office make good is often made up of these items. Your lease and the landlord's requirements decide which ones apply to you.

If the work goes beyond removing your fit-out and into rebuilding base-building finishes and services, it is often called reinstatement. See lease reinstatement. If you only need the fit-out pulled out, see commercial strip-out.

What does my lease actually require?

Read three things before anything else: the make-good clause, the alterations clause, and any document that approved your fit-out. Make-good clauses often fall into one of three shapes.

Return to the condition at the start of the lease

You put back what was there when you moved in, so a start-of-lease condition report matters most here. The Victorian and NSW Small Business Commissions both encourage a condition report at the start of a lease, and keeping a copy.

Return to base building, shell, or an "empty and neutral" state

The NSW Retail Tenancy Guide, written for retail leases, says make-good provisions typically require the premises to be returned "in an empty and neutral state". That is not necessarily how they looked when you moved in. In some cases it means stripping back to base building (bare shell) and redecorating, for example repainting. If you took over an existing fit-out, check whether your lease makes you remove it too.

Clean, repair and remove your own alterations

Some clauses only ask you to remove what you added, repair damage and leave the office clean, with fair wear and tear excluded. Even here, read closely. The Victorian Small Business Commission's FAQs note that a repainting clause can require a repaint to new condition, even if the walls were in poor shape at the start, if that is what the tenant agreed to.

Does it matter if my office lease is a retail lease?

It can. Many office leases are not retail leases, so the retail Acts' protections don't apply and the lease plus general law decide. But in Victoria, premises used wholly or predominantly for "the retail provision of services" can be retail premises (Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) s 4), so a shopfront-style office serving the public may be covered. If you are not sure which applies, ask a lawyer.

What changes in a CBD office tower?

A make good on a floor of a CBD tower is shaped as much by the building as by the lease. Before you get quotes, ask building management for the building rules and contractor induction requirements, and check:

• Loading dock and goods lift bookings. Strip-out waste leaves through the dock, and time slots limit how fast the job moves.
• After-hours noisy work. Some buildings restrict drilling, cutting and demolition to nights or weekends, which affects the program and the price.
• Base-building trades. Some buildings require their own nominated contractors for fire services, sprinklers, building management systems or mechanical work.
• Base-building ceilings and lighting. If your fit-out changed them, the landlord may require the original system put back.

Suburban offices and business parks usually have easier access, but the same lease questions apply. For local building types, rules and dispute pathways, see office make good in Melbourne and office make good in Sydney.

What licences, safety checks and permits apply?

A make good is building work, so the people doing it need the right licences. Ask every contractor for evidence before you choose one.

• Electrical work. In Victoria, prescribed electrical work must be done by a licensed electrical worker, electrical contracting businesses must be registered, and prescribed installation work must be inspected by a licensed electrical inspector (Electricity Safety Act 1998 (Vic) ss 30, 38, 45). In NSW, the government says you must hold an electrical licence or certificate for any electrical wiring work, commercial included.
• Asbestos. In Victoria, before refurbishment work the person managing or controlling the workplace must review the asbestos register, and asbestos likely to be disturbed must be identified (OHS Regulations 2017 (Vic) regs 240, 241, 244). SafeWork NSW says an asbestos register is required for workplaces built before 31 December 2003, or where asbestos has been identified. Removal is licensed work above small limits. If anyone suspects asbestos, stop and get it assessed.
• Building permits. In Victoria, some alterations to commercial buildings don't need a building permit, but only if they don't affect structure, safety or an essential safety measure such as fire services, and the building is not heritage listed (Building Regulations 2018 (Vic) reg 23, Sch 3 item 4). A planning permit may still be needed. In NSW, some works to commercial buildings can be exempt development, but only if they meet every development standard in the state planning rules (NSW Planning Portal). Ask a registered building surveyor or certifier if you are unsure.

How much does an office make good cost?

Honest public data is thin. We will not quote a typical price because no reliable, current, city-specific figure has been published. The most credible public figure we found is old and national:

Treat this as an indication of scale only. It is more than three years old, has no city or building-grade split, and your scope may be very different. See the make good cost guide for more.

What actually moves the price on an office make good:

• Scope in the lease. "Clean and repair" costs far less than "return to base building".
• Floor area and density of the fit-out. More rooms, joinery and cabling means more work.
• Access. After-hours rules, dock slots and lift sizes in CBD towers add time.
• Base-building trades. Required building contractors for fire or mechanical work.
• Hazards. Asbestos found during works changes the job.
• Timing. A rushed program near lease expiry leaves less room to compare quotes.

How do I get office make-good quotes I can compare?

Quotes are only comparable if they price the same scope. A short, clear brief stops one contractor quoting a full reinstatement while another quotes a clean and patch.

1. Collect the documents. Lease, fit-out approvals, condition report, floor plan and photos of every room.
2. Ask the landlord for their requirements. Some landlords or their agents will give a make-good schedule or list. Ask for it in writing.
3. Write one scope. List each item from the table above as "remove", "repair", "replace" or "leave".
4. Get site inspections. No contractor can price an office properly from photos alone.
5. Compare like with like. Check what is included, excluded, provisional, after-hours, and whether GST is shown.
6. Agree the final scope with the landlord before work starts, and get written sign-off from the landlord (not just the agent) at handover.

If the landlord asks for a payment instead of works, independent quotes for the same scope help you judge the figure. The NSW Retail Tenancy Guide notes tenants often agree to pay the landlord in lieu of doing the make good. It also says retail leases often include a clause for an independent quantity surveyor to decide make-good costs if you cannot agree.

How MAKE GREAT helps with an office make good

MAKE GREAT is a technology marketplace. We are not a builder and we don't do the works.

• Analyse my lease. Upload your lease and our lease check pulls out the make-good, alterations and cleaning clauses with page references. Its output is a preliminary assessment, not legal advice, and a person reviews anything unclear before you rely on it.
• Get my make-good quotes. We turn your documents and photos into one scope, then invite up to three independent commercial contractors who cover your area to inspect and quote. If fewer than three are available, we tell you.
• Compare quotes side by side. Inclusions, exclusions and assumptions laid out so you can see what differs. You choose, and you contract directly with the contractor.

How we are paid: Free for tenants. If you hire a contractor through us, they pay us a referral fee. Nobody can pay to rank higher. We don't promise that you will save money. See how our referral fee works.

Office make good checklist

• Find your lease, fit-out approvals and the start-of-lease condition report
• Note the lease expiry date and any notice periods
• Ask building management for building rules and contractor requirements
• Ask the landlord for their make-good requirements in writing
• Check the asbestos register before any strip-out
• Get site inspections and quotes on the same written scope
• Confirm electricians and other trades are licensed
• Agree the final scope and timing with the landlord in writing
• Book the final clean and take dated photos of every room
• Get written sign-off and ask about the return of your bank guarantee or bond

For a full printable list, see the office make good checklist. New to the term? Start with what is make good or the overview of commercial make good for shops and warehouses too.