What does a make-good clause require?

It depends on the clause: original condition judged against the ingoing report, base building strip back, open market condition, or a negotiated cash settlement.

When should a commercial tenant start the make-good process?

Read the clause 10 to 12 weeks before lease end, agree scope with the landlord in writing, and book works 6 to 8 weeks out. Holding over usually means penalty rent at 150 to 200 percent.

End of Lease Make Good Guide

Everything a Sydney commercial tenant needs to know before handing back a tenancy: what make-good clauses actually require, how to scope the work, the timeline that avoids penalty rent, and the documentation that gets the bond released. Written by the crew that does these jobs every week.

What a make-good clause requires

The clause in your lease decides everything. The common versions:

Original condition: return the tenancy as it was at lease start, usually judged against the ingoing condition report. Fit-out you added comes out.
Base building or bare shell: strip back to structure and services regardless of what was there when you arrived.
Open market condition: presentable and lettable, often negotiated pragmatically with the landlord.
Cash settlement: some landlords prefer money over works, especially if they plan to refit. Always worth asking before booking anything.

Read the clause and the ingoing condition report side by side before scoping anything. If there is no condition report, photographs from your fit-out period become your best evidence.

The timeline that works

10 to 12 weeks out: read the clause, ask the landlord their intentions (refit? cash settlement?), and get the scope agreed in writing.
6 to 8 weeks out: book the works. This is where office, retail and warehouse make goods get programmed.
2 to 4 weeks out: works run: strip out, repairs, repaint, reinstatement.
Final week: final clean, photo documentation, walkthrough with the agent, keys back.

The expensive mistake is starting at week 2. Holding over past lease end usually means penalty rent at 150 to 200 percent, which dwarfs whatever the works cost.

Scoping checklist

Partitions, joinery and fit-out to remove
Ceilings: tiles, grid condition, feature ceilings to reinstate
Flooring: lift coverings or return to original spec
Walls: patching and repaint, colour matched to base building
Services: electrical and data capped by licensed trades, certificates kept
Signage off the facade and tenancy directory
Waste: disposal dockets kept with the handover pack
Clean: final clean to agent-walkthrough standard

The handover pack that releases bonds

Walk into the final inspection with: photo documentation of every completed item, disposal dockets, capping certificates, and the agreed scope with each line marked complete. Disputes die when the evidence is organised.

Get the whole job quoted once

Blox runs the full make-good chain with one in-house crew: strip out, waste, repairs, repaint and final clean on a single written quote with a day-by-day program. Call 0435 221 335 with your lease end date and clause wording, and you will have a program and quote within 24 hours.