The short answer
A make good in Chatswood is often a retail job: handing back a shop, restaurant or food-court tenancy in a shopping centre or on Victoria Avenue, or a medical or office suite above it. Your lease sets the standard, but centre management usually controls hours, hoarding and contractor rules. If it is a retail lease, NSW law adds bond, disclosure and mediation protections.
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Key takeaways
- 01Many Chatswood tenancies are in shopping centres, where centre management sets the rules for hoarding, after-hours work, waste and contractor access. Ask for them before you get quotes.
- 02Food tenancies often have exhaust hoods, grease arrestors, cool rooms and floor waste to deal with. Ask the landlord in writing which items stay.
- 03Under a NSW retail lease, the landlord's disclosure statement may describe your make-good works, and the landlord should release a bank guarantee within two months of you leaving unless you owe money.
- 04Medical and dental suites can involve plumbing, X-ray shielding and special-purpose rooms. Check what the lease says about each.
- 05Most retail lease disputes must go to mediation with the NSW Small Business Commission before NCAT.
Chatswood, in Willoughby City Council, is a major retail and transport centre on the lower North Shore. Large shopping centres sit around the Chatswood interchange, food and retail line Victoria Avenue and the surrounding streets, and office and medical suites fill the floors above and the towers near the station. Office suites here have a lot in common with North Sydney. What makes Chatswood different is how many tenants are shops, food outlets and medical practices, often inside a managed centre.
General information only, not legal advice. Your lease sets your obligations. Speak to a property lawyer about your own lease.
What does make good mean for a Chatswood shop or suite?
Make good is a lease term. The NSW Small Business Commission's Retail Tenancy Guide describes it as returning premises to the condition they were first built in, their condition at the start of the lease, "or some other condition as specified in the lease". It says make-good clauses typically ask for an "empty and neutral state", which can mean stripping back to a bare shell. The guide also notes that "cold shell" or "warm shell" wording can mean taking services back to capped points and installing hoarding, both common in shopping centres.
If your lease is a retail lease, look for the Lessor's Disclosure Statement you received before signing. The NSW Small Business Commission's pre-lease factsheet tells landlords to make sure "clear details" are given of the works needed to make good at the end, so check the disclosure statement and lease for them.
How do shopping centre rules affect the work?
Centre management usually controls how a make good is done, even though your lease sets what is done. Ask for the centre's contractor and handover rules before you get quotes. They commonly cover:
| Centre rule | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Hoarding while the shop is being stripped | Adds a line to the quote and must meet the centre's look and safety standards |
| After-hours work for noisy or dusty jobs | Raises labour cost and stretches the programme |
| Loading dock and service corridor bookings | Waste and materials move only in booked slots |
| Contractor inductions, insurance and safe work method statements | Contractors cannot start until these are lodged |
| Fire services and sprinklers | Often only the centre's nominated fire contractor may alter them |
| Handover inspection | Centre staff may inspect before the landlord signs off |
When you compare quotes, check that each one allows for the same centre requirements. A quote that leaves out hoarding or after-hours rates is not cheaper, just incomplete.
What is involved in a food tenancy make good?
Restaurants, cafes and food-court outlets are some of the more involved make goods in Chatswood. Items that often come up:
- exhaust hoods, ductwork and fans, sometimes running up through the building
- grease arrestors and floor wastes
- cool rooms and freezer rooms
- gas appliances and gas supply
- wall and floor finishes such as tiles, coved vinyl and stainless steel
Some landlords prefer to keep kitchen infrastructure for the next food tenant. Others want everything back to shell. Ask in writing before you price anything. Gas, plumbing and electrical disconnections must be done by licensed trades; the NSW Government says any electrical wiring work needs a licence or certificate. See retail make good for more.
What about medical, dental and allied health suites?
Chatswood has many medical and health practices. Their make goods can include plumbing to treatment rooms, sinks and sterilising areas, special flooring, extra power, and in some cases radiation shielding for X-ray rooms. Check what your lease says about each item, and use the right specialist for anything regulated. If the suite is in a strata building, works that affect common property may also need the owners corporation's approval, depending on the type of work and the by-laws.
What protections apply under a NSW retail lease?
If your lease is a retail lease, points from NSW government sources include:
- Bank guarantees. The Retail Tenancy Guide says the landlord should release the bank guarantee within two months of you leaving unless you owe money, and is usually not required to tell you before drawing on it.
- Cash bonds. A cash bond must be lodged with NSW Fair Trading within 20 business days and is held in trust by the NSW Government.
- Quantity surveyor clauses. Many retail leases say an independent quantity surveyor decides the make-good cost if you and the landlord cannot agree.
- Disputes. NCAT says mediation is compulsory for most retail lease claims before applying to the Tribunal. NCAT's limit is $750,000 for leases entered into on or after 1 July 2017, and claims must be made within 3 years (Source: NCAT, Retail leases, checked October 2026).
Our guide to retail make good in NSW covers this in more detail.
What safety checks apply?
SafeWork NSW says workplaces built before 31 December 2003 need an asbestos register. Some Chatswood buildings are older than that, so ask for the register before floor tiles, wall linings or ceilings are removed. If you are unsure whether works need approval, ask your contractor, a certifier or Willoughby City Council.
How MAKE GREAT helps Chatswood tenants
- Analyse my lease: upload your lease and disclosure statement, and our lease check summarises the make-good, alterations and security clauses in plain English. It is preliminary and not legal advice. A person on our team reviews it, and a contractor checks the site before quoting.
- Get my make-good quotes: we turn your lease, photos and the centre's rules into one written brief and invite contractors who have passed our checks to quote on the same scope.
- You choose and contract directly with the contractor. MAKE GREAT is a marketplace, not a contractor. It is free for tenants: if you hire a contractor through us, they pay us a referral fee. Nobody can pay to rank higher.
Nearby: Macquarie Park and North Sydney. See also commercial strip out and end-of-lease cleaning.
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Frequently asked questions
What does a shopping centre make good in Chatswood usually involve?
Commonly removing shopfront, joinery, signage and display fixtures, stripping floor finishes, removing ceiling features and lighting, capping services, putting up hoarding and cleaning. Centres often want the tenancy returned to a set 'shell' standard described in the lease or their design rules. Read your make-good clause and ask centre management for their handover requirements.
Do I have to remove the kitchen and exhaust in a food tenancy?
It depends on your lease. Some landlords want exhaust hoods, grease arrestors and cool rooms left for the next food operator, while others want everything removed back to shell. Get the answer in writing. Gas, plumbing and electrical disconnections must be done by licensed trades.
Does the NSW Retail Leases Act apply to my Chatswood shop?
Many shops and food outlets are covered, but it depends on the Act's definitions, including the type of business and the premises. If it applies, you have protections such as cash bonds held by NSW Fair Trading and mediation before NCAT. Ask the NSW Small Business Commission or a property lawyer if unsure.
When should I get my bank guarantee back after a retail make good?
The NSW Retail Tenancy Guide says the landlord should release the bank guarantee within two months of you leaving the premises unless you owe money. The guide also says the landlord is usually not required to tell you before drawing on it. Get written sign-off on the make good so there is no argument about what you owe.
What if centre management and I disagree about the make-good cost?
Check your lease. Many retail leases say an independent quantity surveyor decides the cost if the parties cannot agree. If it becomes a dispute, NCAT says mediation is compulsory for most retail lease claims before you can apply to the Tribunal. An itemised independent quote helps either way.
Sources
Primary sources we checked when writing this page. Laws and guidance change, so check the current version.
- 1.NSW Small Business Commission, NSW Retail Tenancy Guide (January 2024) (opens in a new tab)
- 2.NSW Small Business Commission, Before you lease: Lessors factsheet (July 2024) (opens in a new tab)
- 3.NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Retail leases (opens in a new tab)
- 4.SafeWork NSW, Asbestos (opens in a new tab)
- 5.NSW Government, Electrical licences (opens in a new tab)
- 6.NSW Government, Strata renovation rules (opens in a new tab)
- 7.Willoughby City Council (opens in a new tab)