When the next tenant wants to start work before you leave
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The landlord has found another tenant, and that tenant would like its contractors to start before your business has finished leaving. Ask for a clear description of the proposal before agreeing access. A measured survey, delivery of materials and alteration work create different practical questions.
Start by establishing who is making the request and who can approve it. The incoming tenant's preferred date is not evidence that the necessary arrangements exist. Your property adviser should review the proposal against the current property position and any proposed exit agreement.
What exactly will happen during the overlap?
Follow the proposed activity through the premises during the meeting. Resolve these questions:
- Which rooms and shared areas would the incoming team use?
- What activities, materials and contractor attendance are proposed?
- Which business functions, equipment and records will still be present?
- Who would control access and communicate changes each day?
- What interruptions could affect the remaining operation?
- How would costs, damage reports and disagreements be handled under the agreed arrangement?
Give each unresolved item an owner. The commercial appeal of finishing sooner should not conceal a missing permission or technical assessment.
GOV.UK's tenant-responsibility guidance points readers to the lease for property responsibilities. The actual documents and jurisdiction need the property adviser's review. For construction work in Great Britain, HSE's commercial-client guidance describes suitable project arrangements and the client's responsibilities. Ask the competent project team to establish the relevant roles where several organisations are involved.
Keep a retention proposal separate from a work proposal
Suppose, in a fictional example, the next tenant wants your office partitions to remain. It also wants its installer to alter the office before your final customer administration ends. Those are two decisions.
The first concerns the landlord's proposal to keep fit-out, including ownership and the documented property agreement. The second concerns activity while your people and records still occupy the room. Agreement on the partitions does not answer the overlap questions.
An alternative may be a limited survey now, with any later work considered after the office function moves. That is a proposal for the advisers and project team to assess, not an automatic right or a universal solution. Record the effect on the incoming tenant's dates and your own work.
Put the accepted arrangement where the site team can use it
Once the necessary advice and agreements are in place, give the responsible site contacts the approved activity, boundaries and communication route. Make changes through the same route. A casual request from a contractor should not silently expand an agreed survey into installation work.
Keep the key handover and legal exit confirmation clear. If anyone needs access after the property exit, resolve that separately with the advisers rather than assuming the overlap arrangement continues.
Tell UK Auction Group about any agreed overlapping activity that affects machinery or equipment availability. Describe the actual restrictions and contacts so an asset sale enquiry is based on the accepted site arrangements.
The premises exit hub covers the connected property decisions.
Sources
This guide is general information and education only. Legal, tax, employment and safety decisions may need a qualified adviser who knows your situation. Read the disclaimer.