Once you’ve located a potential office that you would like to rent, often times you will need to “build-out” the space to match your business’s specific needs. More times than not, when discussing construction with the landlord’s agent, you will hear the agent say that “the landlord will supply ‘building standard’ construction”. This may seem nice on the surface as the building, or even the landlord’s agent him/herself, presents a positive image of what building standard could mean.
However, what most potential tenants will soon find out, is that “building standard” is a very vague term. A term that needs to be well vetted out with proper due diligence both from the tenant’s agent and the potential tenants themselves. This is not to say of course that a “building standard” build out will not be very nice but rather it needs clarity into what it means in each building.
Some landlords consider “building standard” to mean simply a few new sheetrock walls and new carpet. In these situations, electrical, lighting, and plumbing are considered to be “above standard” and will be the responsibility of the tenant to fit the bill. While other buildings will provide complete new “building standard” construction with wood floors (or flooring of your choice), plumbing, lighting, etc. included with the landlord handling the construction and cost.
Knowing what “building standard” means, in a building that you are interested in leasing space from, early on can save you from spending money on items that you thought were included.
It is important to note that what is generally included in building standard, has a direct correlation with the “per square foot” rental price. More expensive buildings usually provide more in their “building standard” than lower cost locations. The same is true for length of lease, the longer the lease the more items included in “building standard”.
So, when you’re getting to the construction costs, make sure you know exactly what landlords mean when they say “building standard”!
David Goldberg, Social Media Manager
