The “make good” clause is the sting in the tail of just about every office lease.   At a time when all you want to do is walk away, you could be looking at spending thousands of dollars in order to fulfil your commitment to the landlord.    There are a few things that you should consider regarding make good clauses, and believe it or not you should do this BEFORE YOU SIGN THE LEASE!

1. If you are taking over the lease from someone else, you are most likely taking over their make good obligations, read the lease carefully.
2. Why not try to negotiate the clause out of the lease, particularly if you are in a buyers market.   They may well succumb to your way of thinking.
3. Be sure to do a photographic dilapidation report before you move in, if the office space is in a poor state of repair before you move in, you don’t want to be the person who improves the property for someone else when you exit.   Unless your lease says otherwise you should be looking to return the property in the condition that you found it.   There is normally a clause on “fair wear and tear” that you should make sure you understand.  If you are not comfortable doing a dilapidation report yourself there are professional organisations that can do it for you… for a fee.
4. An expense that I’m sure you can do without is replacing the carpet, unless it is in your lease to replace it regardless of its condition.   The use of chair mats and regular professional cleaning of the carpet will reduce your chances of having to replace the carpet when you finish your lease.

This list is by no means comprehensive, but it’s a good start.   If you have had experience with issues around make goods, please tell us your story.

A reception renovation can quickly turn into a disaster if it is not designed and well thought out in advance.   The receptionist is the front line of your business, an uncomfortable and unhappy receptionist will not be your business putting its best foot forward.

Here are a few questions you should ask yourself regarding the design of your reception area:

1.   How many staff are likely to be on the counter at any one time, both now and into the future (the term of your lease)?

2.   How many visitors will you have, and what type?   Families will happily sit together on a 3 person couch, but if most of your visitors are business men, you will find they won’t want to sit together.

3.   Will the receptionist be accepting and sending out mail?  If so they will need desk space to do it and possibly even space for a franking machine.

4.   Will the receptionist need to be able to unlock the entry door without getting up?

5.   If your receptionist is isolated most of the time from other staff, should you consider a duress alarm?

6.   Does your receptionist need to have a space to do confidential filing, ie… lockable cabinets and a private space?

7.   Will your receptionist be required to offer refreshments?  If so make sure this is taken into consideration in the design.

8.   Does your proposed reception area have a space for people to sign in and out and be issued with visitors badges?

9.   What design considerations do you need to give for disabled access, for example, are you frequented by people in wheel chairs?  If so having a low section on the desk and an area where a chair can pull in gives your visitor the dignity they deserve.

10. What kinds of deliveries do you normally take in the reception area?   Does there need to be an area where couriers can drop items off and be signed for.

11. What type of look are you after, it’s not just the counter, it’s the wall and floor finishes, it’s the lighting, it’s the visitor seating and also the art on the walls to name but a few.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of considerations but it’s a pretty good start.