Your landlord wants to relocate your offices? Now what?

Written by Lynn

So, your landlord has contacted you about relocating your office, out of the blue. What should you do? I’m not going to mince words here: pull out of the lease right away (and call your broker).  Is there a clause within your lease that allows the landlord to relocate you?  If not, you can tell them no.  Or, perhaps you can deal with moving.  In that case, you can agree—but negotiate something you want in exchange!  Make the deal work for you.

If you do have a relocation clause, you need to see what costs the landlord will incur in relocating your office space.  After all, it’s probably not in your budget to pay to move the entire office.  Start by taking inventory of everything that will need to be relocated.

Ask yourself:

Are there any special wall coverings or signs that have to be relocated?
Do you have artwork on the wall that was professionally installed?
What about overhead music, or noise-cancelling systems?
Does your current space have a kitchen with a dishwasher?
Will your furniture fit in the new space?  If you have systems furniture, who is paying to disassemble and re-assemble?
Is the new space next to the cafeteria emitting smells?
Does the suggested location look out over the dumpster?
What about all of your brochures?  Will they need a suite change and therefore need to be replaced?
What about phone lines, date, your server?
It gives me a headache just thinking about all of these things! There’s so much to think about. In short, it’s no small feat to move your office, and you want to make sure you’re not responsible financially for a move you didn’t choose! If you get asked to relocate, put together a detailed list of things the you’d need—things that the landlord would be required to manage and pay for.  After all, you didn’t ask to be moved!
Full story: http://www.compass-commercial.com/blog
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