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When you run a business, there will come a time when your organization’s growth means you must move to bigger premises. The need to do that is both good and bad simultaneously, believe it or not!
It’s good because it shows that your business model is sustainable, and you need more space to continue expanding. It’s also bad because you’ve got plenty to think about and action before you physically move into your new office space.
Let’s face it: there are plenty of online guides explaining what you should do when you move from one business premises to another. But, there’s little information about what you need to do about your “old” office before you give your landlord back the keys.
With that in mind, here’s what you need to consider and action at your existing business premises to get your security deposit back in full:
Dispose of any trash and unwanted items
The one thing that catches out many office tenants is how their landlords will keep some of their security deposits. They usually state that it’s because of the need to pay for waste disposal services. Of course, you have no idea how much such services cost.
If you don’t want to give your landlord any reason to hold back some of your security deposit, make sure you pay someone to haul away your unwanted items. What you need is something like this service for your office to take care of your trash removal.
Fix anything you broke that isn’t yours
Another thing you must do before giving up your office lease is to repair anything that was broken in your tenancy that doesn’t belong to you. Examples might be holes in walls or doors, damaged light fittings, switches, and wall sockets.
When you first moved into your office, you’ll have doubtless signed a contract that included an inventory. It will have probably included photographs showing the condition of the office in great detail.
Sometimes, accidents in the workplace are unavoidable. You might move a desk, for instance, and accidentally damaged a wall or floor in the process. It’s crucial you put those problems right or face having a lesser security deposit returned to you to cover repair costs.
Give the walls a fresh coat of paint
One final thing you should consider doing is painting the walls of the office before you hand the keys back to your landlord. Some people reading this might think that’s somewhat overkill and that the landlord probably doesn’t care about such details.
The sad truth is that it’s often a reason for landlords to withhold back some of your security deposit. And that can especially be so if you began with a lease where the walls were in a shocking condition!
Thankfully, white paint is cheap to buy and available in large quantities. All you’ll need is a roller and some old blankets to protect the carpets while you paint.
Good luck!
