Reinstatement can eat your security deposit twice over if you leave it to the last month. The five decisions that decide the invoice.
Reinstatement is one of the last line items on a corporate move-out — and one of the most disputed. Landlords hold the deposit, tenants underestimate scope, and the contractor gets the blame. Five habits keep the bill honest.
1. Read the tenancy schedule the day you sign
Every commercial lease has a reinstatement schedule attached. Read it on day one, not the month you're leaving. It tells you which partitions, cabling and finishes must come out.
2. Photograph the unit on hand-over day
Dated photos of the shell as you took it are the single strongest defence against 'we didn't have that mark on the wall' arguments three years later.
3. Book contractors 8 weeks out, not 2
Reinstatement crews are seasonally booked out. A rushed 2-week job costs 40–60% more and still misses the hand-over date.
4. Get the landlord's checklist in writing
Different landlords sign off differently. Ask the FM team for their inspection checklist upfront — you'll build your scope of works from it.
5. Get an itemised quote, not a lump sum
Lump sums invite disputes at hand-over. Line-item quotes make it easy to add or drop scope as the landlord's inspector walks the unit.
