When you have a commercial lease for your business premises, you must abide by the terms of your lease agreement. Your lease agreement will detail your obligations which can be positive covenants, what you have to do, and restrictive covenants, what you cannot do. One of the subjects your lease will cover are alterations to your business premises. For example, you may alter your commercial premises to ensure they are more suitable for your business use. If so, your landlord will likely restrict modifying your commercial premises to protect their property investment. You must understand these so that you do not breach your lease. This article will explain alterations to commercial premises under a commercial lease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lease agreement is a legally binding contract between you and your commercial landlord. It details the terms of your commercial lease in return for rent payments. A lease agreement will describe the terms and conditions of using your commercial premises, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your commercial lease agreement will also detail rules concerning alterations to your business premises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your commercial lease is the first place you should look to find out what you can and cannot alter<\/a> in your commercial premises. It should have an alterations clause that will detail this. The control your commercial landlord wishes to have over your commercial premises and the type of commercial property you occupy affect what alterations they permit.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your commercial lease may prohibit all types of alterations, which is likely for short-term leases<\/a>. Alternatively, it may allow specific alterations with your landlord\u2019s consent and even enable modifications without permission. However, your commercial lease likely prohibits structural alterations that will affect the building\u2019s environmental rating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Suppose your lease does not specify what you can or cannot do regarding alterations to your business premises. In that case, you can, arguably, carry out modifications as you please. However, this is unlikely, as a landlord typically wishes to exercise control over the premises. Nevertheless, if you are free to make any alterations, they must not breach other terms of your lease, including any implied restrictions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n It is common for commercial leases to allow you, as the commercial tenant<\/a>, to make non-structural alterations with your landlord’s permission. Your lease may detail how you apply for approval, including the need for plans and specifications of the alterations you request. The typical alterations clause states that non-structural alterations are permissible with the landlord\u2019s consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A normal consent requirement in a lease will specify that when you request your landlord to make alterations, they must not unreasonably withhold or delay their response. Instead, their response should be prompt. It should also be reasonable in terms of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where your landlord permits alterations, they might do so through a licence that can detail any conditions they have. Your lease may state that you pay the landlord’s costs for this. The licence may say that you have to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless of how your commercial lease does or does not restrict you, you should consider other potential restrictions when you lease. These may also affect what you can and cannot do regarding alterations. For example, you should consider the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\nPermission for Alterations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Other Considerations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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