What is Office reinstatement

Office reinstatement is the process of handing back the office / business premise to the property owner in its original/ agreed upon condition

Why do you need office reinstatement?

It is necessary for all commercial tenancy agreements for the tenant to reinstate the premises back to its original condition before handing back the premises to the landlord. The tenant is contractually obligated to do this and failing to do so the landlord may deduct the reinstatement amount from the deposit or take legal action. By reinstating the office, your paving the way for the landlord to lease the space out to another tenant.

What does office reinstatement involve?

There are necessary legal requirements and conditions that need to be met for each site it’s not simply returning the space back to bare shell condition.

These components include the below plus many more

• Meeting local building laws
• Meeting local OH&S laws
• Removal of all electrical & data components
• Removal of all partitions and false ceiling
• Restoring all fire safety equipment to the original positions
• Demolition of all add-on masonry works
• Removal of all add-on doors, windows, curtains and blinds
• Removal of all add-on plumbing components
• Removal of all add-on fire safety components
• Removal of all furniture items
• Painting all walls and ceiling to their original colour

So how do we meet local legal requirements, landlord conditions and hand the space back to the landlord before deadline without a hitch and get back your deposit?

Hire a good contractor, not just any contractor, you need one with substantial reinstatement experience preferably someone that specialise in it.

By hiring a good contractor, you are preventing yourself from possible costly legal fees, costs to redo the project again due to failing to reach requirements, deposit lost tenant landlord relationship damage and future hassle.

An experienced office reinstatement contractor will understand the requirements stated in the contract, will communicate on your behalf to building management, complete all necessary conditions/requirements and conclude the project with a joint inspection and handover. The process should be relatively simple and hassle free for the tenant. The tenant is then entitled to receive their deposit back.

You will probably already be working with a contractor at your firm for internal projects however something to consider is that your better off finding someone that specialises in office reinstatement and does it right the first time rather than asking your current contractor that specializes in inhouse design projects. Not all contractors are the same! And their experience level in office reinstatement is different, combined with a tight dead line to return the space back to the landlord, if you don’t have a contractor specialising in office reinstatement, it’s a recipe for disaster. Dealing with landlord requires a different skill set than dealing with the tenants.

When to start looking for an office reinstatement contractor

This entirely depends on the size of the space, logically the larger the space the more time it will take for the contractor to reinstate it to its original condition. Also take into consideration the approval structure of your firm. If there is a long twisty road to approval and a contractor price comparison method your firm likes to follow then you should add 1 -2 months on to each time line below.

The general rule of thumb, 3-4 months for a space that is approx. 20,000sqf before your handover deadline. If your space is smaller 2 months before the deadline, if your space is larger 5-6 months before hand over deadline.

Something else to consider is the complexity of the reinstatement project. The more condition and obligatory requirements stated in the contract the more complex the project which will require additional time.

Key tips

• Find a good contractor
• Estimate the costs – This will be different from site to site and each contractor will provide a different quote – this depends on their expenses and labour fees.
• Understand the time frame needed to reinstate the office to original condition and plan ahead.
• Put your chosen contractor and building management in contact asap. Once they are communicating your role can take a back seat until handover.

Any questions or need a reinstatement quotation ? Please visit https://www.hkofficereinstatement.com/

or contact us: info@hkofficereinstatement.com