If you rent office space, you may want to give your premises a make-over at some point.  If you do, you need to make sure you comply with the terms of your lease and any consent document, or your landlord may be entitled to force you to remove the work you’ve done, or even forfeit the lease.

So what’s involved?  First, you should check the “alterations” provisions of your lease.  These will usually impose obligations on what you can and can’t change in the premises, and will also let you know whether you need your landlord’s consent in the first place. If you do need consent, your landlord will probably ask you to pay for his legal costs.

It is important that you seek legal advice on any documentation (usually called a “licence for alterations”), as it could impose hidden costs and liabilities that you might not have thought about.  First of all, try to ensure that any improvements you make to the property are not taken into account in a future rent review.  If they are taken into account, there might be an inflationary effect on the revised rent, which probably isn’t fair if you paid for the improvements in the first place!  Secondly, try to avoid any liability for removing the works at the end of the term – which could be costly and time-consuming.  If you think the works make the property more attractive, then talk to the landlord – he might be happy for the works to stay in place after you move out.

What if your landlord refuses to consent to the works?  You might still be OK if the works are genuine (non structural) improvements, as the law states that the landlord can’t usually withhold consent without good reason.  If the works aren’t genuine improvements (perhaps moving internal walls around for your company’s specific needs), then you will probably need to observe the provisions of your lease fairly strictly, or you may try to negotiate a compromise.

In any event, tenant alterations can be a complicated and stressful process – early advice from your contractors and legal team will help things to run smoothly.