Before you sign the lease: a fit-out and approvals check
If you've found a shop, office or tenancy, find out before you sign whether your business is allowed there, which approvals you'll need, what the building is missing and roughly what the fit-out will cost. It's charged at our hourly rate, and you get a written answer.
A checklist before signing a commercial lease usually covers the lease terms. Our check adds the building: we look at the shop and its paperwork and tell you in writing whether your business can go there. You get the approval route (change of use, CDC or DA), what the existing approval allows, the red flags and a rough budget range. The fee is credited against the design fee if you go ahead.
Who it's for
- You've found a shop, office or tenancy and haven't signed yet, or you're at heads of agreement.
- The space was something else before, and you want to open a café, restaurant, salon, clinic, gym or shop.
- You're buying an existing business and want to know what its approvals really cover.
- You're choosing between sites and want to know which is cheapest to make work.
Already signed? Book a free 15-minute call and we'll talk about the fastest route from there.
Why check before you sign
The lease commits you to rent whether or not council lets you trade. The NSW Small Business Commissioner tells tenants to check with council before signing. Its advice is blunt: "Don't rely on what the landlord says about council regulations because zoning and planning regulations can change."
The permitted use in your lease is only what the landlord allows. Running a different type of business needs the written consent of both the landlord and council.
Time costs money too: while you wait for approval and then build, costs mount up with nothing coming in. The Commissioner suggests negotiating a rent-free period, which is far easier before you sign.
What we check
- Zoning and permitted use: whether the council's local plan allows your type of business on the site
- Change of use and the approval route: exempt, CDC or DA. A shop becoming a café is a change of use; one kind of shop becoming another usually isn't
- The existing approval: what it covers, and its conditions on hours, seats, noise and parking
- Exhaust: for cooking, whether there's a realistic route to discharge above the roof
- Grease trap and plumbing: where a 1,000-litre trap could go, drainage, and water for basins
- Toilets and access: what your seat count needs, and a step-free path from the entrance
- Fire: exits and the fire safety items a certifier is likely to ask for
- Power and gas: whether the supply suits your equipment, or needs an upgrade such as three-phase power
- Make-good clauses: what the building work would cost to strip out and restore when you leave
- Shopping centre fit-out guides: the standard the centre expects, landlord's works and who pays
What you receive
- A written summary in plain English: can your business go here, and on which approval route?
- The red flags, sorted into what would stop the project, what would add cost and what just needs care
- A rough budget range for the fit-out on this site, with the big items named
- Questions to put to the landlord or agent before you sign
- A clear answer: yes, no, or yes if
Lease Check Fee
- Price: charged at our hourly rate
- Site visit: if you ask for one, charged at the same hourly rate
- Credit: the fee comes off our design fee if you go ahead with us on that site
- Language: English, Mandarin (普通话) or German
If the answer is no
Then the check has done its job. You've kept the rent, the fit-out money and months of your time for a site that can work.
Who Handles the Rest
Legal Advice on the Lease
We check the building and the approvals, and a lawyer reviews the lease. The Small Business Commissioner recommends independent legal advice, and for a retail lease you should receive the disclosure statement before the lease begins.
Building Inspection
A building inspector tests for structural defects, asbestos and pests. If something looks wrong during our check, we'll tell you who to call.
The Approval Decision
Council or a certifier makes the decision. We tell you the likely route and what it needs.
Construction Quotes
Our budget range is for planning. Builders price the final drawings.
Lease check questions
When should I book the check?
Before you sign anything binding, ideally before heads of agreement. The earlier we look, the more the findings can shape your negotiation with the landlord, for example on a rent-free period or the landlord's works, while those are still on the table.
Do I need a DA for a café?
If the premises isn't already approved as a café or restaurant, yes, or a CDC if the site and design meet every standard. NSW Planning says a change of use to a restaurant or café needs planning approval. The check tells you which route applies to your site and what it's likely to need.
What is a change of use DA?
A development application to use premises for a different purpose than the approved one, such as a shop becoming a café. NSW lets shops, offices and business premises such as salons switch between each other without approval if the exempt standards are met. Food and drink premises, gyms and medical clinics aren't on that list, so they need a CDC or DA.
Is the fee credited?
Yes. If you go ahead with us on that site, the fee comes off our design fee. If you don't, you keep the written summary and can use it with anyone you like, including another designer or your builder.
Can you check more than one site?
Yes. Each site is a separate check. If you're choosing between sites, tell us on the free call and we'll suggest which one to look at first, based on what your business needs most, such as exhaust, floor area or frontage.
I've already signed. Is it too late?
No, but the question changes from "should I sign?" to "what's the fastest legal route to opening?". Book a free 15-minute call and we'll tell you what we'd do first, which is usually confirming the approval route and the services the site lacks.
Read first
Tell us what you are planning. In a free 15-minute call we will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit, what the approval route looks like and what the sensible next step is.
