Make Good Sydney

Make good is the lease obligation requiring the tenant to return the premises to an agreed condition when the lease ends, usually the condition recorded in the condition report at lease commencement, or base-building condition. In practice it typically means removing the tenant’s fit out, capping redundant services and patching or restoring surfaces. The exact scope is set by your lease wording, which is why we start every make-good with a lease review.

The tenant, under almost all commercial leases: it is your obligation to deliver the premises back in the required condition, at your cost, before the lease ends. Some tenants negotiate a cash settlement with the landlord instead of doing the works, which landlords sometimes prefer when they plan to refit anyway. If you leave without making good, the landlord can typically do the works and recover the cost from you or your bond, usually at a higher price than doing it yourself.

Make good is the lease obligation: the clause defining the condition you must hand the premises back in. A defit is the project that satisfies it: returning the tenancy to its original or base-building condition at the end of the lease. A strip out is the physical removal work inside that project: taking out the fit out itself. Most make-goods are a strip out plus patching and restoration. Our defit service covers the full end-of-lease project.

The strip-out component is typically $40-$60 per square metre in Sydney, depending on fit out density, building access and after-hours requirements. Restoration and patching works vary too much with lease wording to carry a standard rate, so they are quoted per project after we review your lease and inspect the tenancy. The inspection and quote are free, and the itemised pricing doubles as a negotiating tool if you pursue a cash settlement.

If the lease has no make-good clause, your obligations are far narrower, generally limited to removing your own fittings and not damaging the premises, though you should confirm your position with your solicitor. A missing condition report is more common: the clause exists but the baseline is gone. In that case the scope usually becomes a negotiation with the landlord based on the lease wording and evidence of the original condition. We document what is clearly tenant-installed, price a realistic scope and help you agree it in writing before work starts.

The works must be finished before the lease ends, otherwise you risk holding-over rent or the landlord claiming costs, so plan backwards from expiry. For a typical tenancy, allow time for the scope to be agreed with the landlord, then 3-10 days for the works themselves, plus a buffer for the final walkthrough and any minor rectifications. Getting a quote 6-8 weeks out is comfortable; call 0424 944 944 if your deadline is tighter and we will programme around it.