How to prepare for your office lease expiration

It’s important to plan ahead.

The end of the year doesn’t just signal the holidays. It’s also the time of year when many California businesses are faced with an office lease expiration and must decide whether to renew their office lease or relocate.

If you choose to relocate your business upon your office lease expiration, you are usually required to decommission your office space—that is, to return it to clearly specified terms spelled out in your contract. While office lease expiration move outs vary from company to company, here are a few important pointers to keep in mind.

Talk to your property manager about your office lease expiration.

All of your obligations should be outlined in your lease. Make sure you review your office lease terms with your property manager to understand specifics like which build-outs and modifications need to be removed. Even better, schedule a walkthrough with your property manager and photograph or document what needs to be done as well, so there’s no miscommunication.

Determine what assets you need to retain.

Consider how much space you have at the new location. For example, the table in your current conference room may not fit in your future one. Another example is that your existing cubicle design, or size, may not be suitable for your new space. Good practice to follow during this process is to conduct an inventory and tag or photograph what’s necessary to keep.

Purge whatever should not come with you.

Don’t clutter up your new office if you don’t have to. Whether that’s furniture, fixtures, or old IT equipment, it’s less costly in the long run to get rid of what you don’t need beforehand before the movers show up to take you to your new home. Files and records are also critical to consider before you move. Know which files have to be retained and securely destroy those that have come to the end of their lifespan to protect your business from data leaks.

Clear out your cables.

It’s highly likely that you need to oversee the removal of voice, network and data lines—yes, even these need to go, too. This can involve complete removal from ceilings and floor channels; or cutting them at outlets and rolling them up into the ceiling. If your workforce is large or network needs are complex, you may also need to find a specialist in disconnect and reconnect services to take down your IT infrastructure during your move and get it back up and running in your new home without delay or incident.

Make repairs.

This is usually done after you’ve vacated your existing office because any damage is easier to see. Check for tiles that need replacing, and painting, plumbing or electrical work that needs to be done. Again, your business lease expiration terms should specify the condition you must leave the space in.

Think ahead.

Decommissioning your office is only part of the story when it comes to exiting your office lease. In addition, you need to undertake careful planning to determine offsite storage needs and to find an experienced mover to help you relocate to your future location.