Warehouse make good in Sydney

Sydney's warehouse market splits into two very different kinds of building. South Sydney, around Alexandria, Mascot and Botany, has older, smaller warehouses close to the city and the port, many with offices, showrooms or workshops built in over the years. Western Sydney, from Silverwater and Wetherill Park out to Eastern Creek, Erskine Park and Moorebank, includes many large logistics sheds with tall racking and big concrete slabs. The make good on each looks different, even when the lease wording is similar.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Your lease sets your obligations. Speak to a lawyer about your own lease.

What is a warehouse make good?

It is the work you do at the end of an industrial lease to hand the site back in the condition the lease requires. The NSW Small Business Commission's tenancy guide describes make good as returning premises to the condition they were first built in, the condition at the start of the lease, "or some other condition as specified in the lease". The same guide notes that make-good clauses often aim for an "empty and neutral state", which is not always the same as how the site looked on day one.

In practice, warehouse make-good clauses usually ask for one or more of:

• Remove the tenant's works: racking, office pods, mezzanines, signage, added power and data.
• Repair the damage that removal and use caused, beyond fair wear and tear.
• Reinstate finishes and services to the condition described in the lease or a condition report.
• Clean the building, yard and hardstand.

What does a make good look like in south Sydney warehouses?

Think Alexandria, Mascot, Botany, Banksmeadow and Rosebery, in the City of Sydney and Bayside Council areas. Many of these buildings are older, have had several tenants, and have often been partly converted into offices, studios, showrooms or trade counters.

Common items:

• Internal fit-out: partitions, ceilings, kitchenettes and bathrooms added inside the warehouse shell.
• Mezzanine offices built by a previous tenant or by you. Who built it, and whether you took it over, matters a lot.
• Asbestos. Older buildings are more likely to contain it in roof sheeting, wall linings, floor tiles or pipe lagging. Check the asbestos register before anything is disturbed (see below).
• Tight access. Narrow streets, shared driveways and busy neighbours make bin placement, deliveries and working hours a real part of the plan.

The hardest question on these sites is usually "what was the starting condition?" If the lease has a condition report, or you have photos from move-in, find them early.

What does a make good look like in western Sydney logistics sheds?

Think Wetherill Park and Smithfield (Fairfield), Eastern Creek and Seven Hills (Blacktown), Erskine Park (Penrith), Moorebank and Prestons (Liverpool), Ingleburn (Campbelltown) and Silverwater (Parramatta). Sites here range from mid-sized factory units to very large distribution centres.

Common items:

• Pallet racking: dismantling and removing it, then cutting or removing the anchors and filling the holes in the slab.
• Slab repairs: chips and cracks around baseplates, wear along forklift aisles, and oil or tyre staining.
• Line marking and coatings: grinding off painted aisle and safety lines, and dealing with any epoxy or sealer you added.
• High-bay lighting and power added for your operation, removed by a licensed electrician.
• Fire services changed for in-rack sprinklers or office pods, put back to the base-building layout by a fire services contractor.
• Dock levellers, roller doors, bollards and wall panels damaged by trucks and forklifts.
• Hardstand and yard: cleaning, removing containers and making good any fixings.

On a large shed, racking and the floor often make up most of the work, because every upright leaves a mark in the slab.

Which NSW rules apply to a warehouse make good?

Does the Retail Leases Act 1994 cover my warehouse?

Usually not. The Act covers "retail shops": premises used wholly or mainly for the retail businesses listed in the Retail Leases Regulation 2022, or for any business in a retail shopping centre. A storage, distribution or manufacturing warehouse is normally outside it and governed by the lease and general law instead. That means retail-lease protections, such as the NSW tenancy guide's two-month guideline for releasing bank guarantees, may not apply. If your site has a shop-front or trade counter, ask a lawyer.

What are the asbestos rules?

SafeWork NSW says an asbestos register is required for workplaces built before 31 December 2003, or where asbestos has been identified. A licence is needed to remove any amount of friable asbestos, and to remove more than 10 m² of non-friable asbestos. Older buildings in both south and western Sydney may have been built before that date. Ask your landlord for the register before you book any strip-out.

Who can do the electrical work?

In NSW you must have an electrical licence or certificate to do any electrical wiring work, whatever it costs and whether the site is residential, commercial or industrial. Removing added power outlets, three-phase supplies or extra lighting is a job for a licensed electrician.

Do I need council approval to remove a mezzanine or office?

It depends on the work. Under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008, some minor work needs no approval (exempt development), and some internal alterations to commercial and industrial buildings can get a fast-track complying development certificate from council or a private certifier. Work that does not meet those standards needs a development application. Check with a certifier or your council before you remove anything structural or touch fire safety systems.

What if I made changes without the landlord's consent?

Take care. In Tabcorp v Bowen [2009] HCA 8, a tenant changed a building without the consent its lease required, and the High Court allowed the landlord to recover the cost of reinstatement, not just the loss in value. Find the consents you were given and any conditions attached to them.

How much does a warehouse make good cost in Sydney?

We do not publish a dollar range for Sydney warehouse make goods. When we researched Australian cost sources, we found published make-good rates for offices only, and no reliable public rates for industrial or warehouse make goods (Source: MAKE GREAT cost-source research, October 2026). Figures for demolishing a whole warehouse describe a different job and should not be used for a tenancy make good.

These are the factors that usually decide the price:

What is the best order of works for a Sydney warehouse?

• Find the lease, the make-good clause, any consents and the starting condition report.
• Ask the landlord or agent for their make-good requirements in writing.
• Get the asbestos register if the building is pre-2004.
• Write one scope and get comparable quotes on it.
• Clear stock, then remove racking, then fix floors, services and walls.
• Clean the building, yard and hardstand.
• Hold a joint final inspection and get written sign-off before the lease ends.
• Ask in writing for your bank guarantee or bond to be released.

If the works run past the end date, check what your lease says about holding over.

What if the landlord asks for cash instead of works?

That is common. The NSW Small Business Commission notes that tenants "often agree" to pay the landlord instead of doing the make good, and that a tenant who does not make good will normally be liable for the landlord's costs. Before you agree a figure, get your own scope and contractor quotes so you are negotiating from real numbers. If the gap is large, get legal advice.

How MAKE GREAT helps with a Sydney warehouse make good

MAKE GREAT is a technology marketplace. We do not do the works and we are not your builder. We help you:

• Read your lease faster. Our lease check pulls out the make-good terms. It is preliminary, a person at MAKE GREAT reviews it before you rely on it, and a contractor must check the site. It is not legal advice.
• Build one clear scope for your western or south Sydney site.
• Compare quotes from independent commercial contractors on the same scope, and choose who you contract with.

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. You contract directly with the contractor. Read how our referral fee works.

Get my make-good quotes or analyse my lease. See also our Sydney make-good page, the warehouse make-good overview (racking, line marking and sprinklers in more depth), Sydney commercial strip-out, end-of-lease cleaning and the Melbourne warehouse make-good guide.