Office Lease-End Make-Good Checklist for Small Repairs

Before you hand an office suite back, read the make-good (or "restoration") clause in your lease, walk the space with the landlord's list in hand, and fix the small items yourself: anchor holes, scuffed walls, stained ceiling tiles, dead lamps, loose door hardware and anything you mounted. Those repairs are cheap when they are batched into one or two visits, and expensive when the landlord's contractor does them after you leave and bills the work against your deposit.

The checklist below covers the light-maintenance side of a typical office move-out. Structural work, electrical circuits, HVAC changes and cabling removal are separate trades, and we flag them where they come up.

What a make-good clause usually asks for

Every lease is different, so the document itself is the only real authority. Most office make-good clauses ask for some mix of the following:

• Return the premises in the condition they were in at the start of the term, allowing for reasonable wear and tear.
• Remove the tenant's fixtures, signage, furniture and equipment, and repair any damage caused by removing them.
• Reinstate any alterations the tenant made, unless the landlord agreed in writing that they could stay.
• Leave the space clean and in good repair.

Two details trip people up. "Reasonable wear and tear" rarely covers holes, gouges or tape residue. And some leases let the landlord decide at the end of the term which alterations must come out, so ask for that decision in writing early.

In Québec, article 1890 of the Civil Code says a lessee must return the property in the condition received, but is not liable for changes from aging or normal use. Other provinces and US states mostly leave it to the lease wording. When the language is unclear, a short call with your lawyer or broker costs less than a dispute over the deposit.

Start with paper, not paint

• Find the move-in record. A condition report, photos or the original fit-out drawings tell you what "original condition" means. Without them, the landlord's memory usually wins.
• Request a joint walkthrough 60 to 90 days before expiry. Ask the property manager to mark up the items they expect fixed. A written list keeps the scope from growing after you leave.
• Confirm the paint colour and sheen. Building-standard paint is often specified by the landlord. Ask for the name or a sample before anyone buys a gallon.
• Check the ceiling tile spec. Tiles look alike until a new one sits next to an old one. Pull one tile and note the manufacturer, pattern and edge detail.
• Photograph everything. Date-stamped photos of each room before and after the repairs protect you if the landlord's final inspection says otherwise.

Room-by-room repair checklist

Walls and paint

• Remove picture hooks, whiteboard rails, TV mounts, shelving, suite signage and wall graphics.
• Patch every anchor and screw hole. Larger holes from wall mounts need a backed patch, not just filler.
• Sand, prime and touch up, or repaint the whole wall where touch-ups would flash under the lights.
• Remove tape, adhesive hooks and decals without pulling the paper face off the drywall.
• Repair corner bead dents near doors and in corridors where carts hit.

Ceilings and lighting

• Replace water-stained, cracked or sagging ceiling tiles with a matching tile.
• Straighten or reset bent grid tees and misaligned tiles.
• Relamp every fixture so the suite is fully lit at the final inspection, and make sure colour temperature matches room to room.
• Test emergency lighting and exit signs. A failed battery pack is a simple swap; a failed fixture or a wiring fault goes to a licensed electrician.

Doors and hardware

• Adjust doors that rub, drag or fail to latch.
• Tighten or replace loose hinges, levers and strike plates.
• Adjust closers so doors close fully without slamming. On accessible routes, keep the opening force and closing time within the rules (see our door closer and opening force guide).
• Remove tenant-added locks, access readers or kick plates if the lease calls for it, and fill the holes. Access control wiring goes back to the security vendor.
• Gather every key and fob for return, and ask whether the landlord expects a rekey at your cost.

Kitchenette and washrooms

• Replace worn faucet cartridges or washers, running toilet flappers and leaking supply lines.
• Clear slow drains and P-traps.
• Recaulk sinks, backsplashes and countertop joints where the old bead has yellowed or split.
• Remove tenant-installed appliances, water filters and dispensers, then cap or restore the connections. Anything that needs a new valve or a permit is a plumber's job.

Floors, base and trim

• Reattach loose wall base and replace short damaged runs.
• Remove floor-mounted furniture anchors and fill the holes.
• Note carpet stains, tears and seams for the cleaning or flooring contractor. Full carpet replacement is a flooring trade decision, not a handyman one.

Items that need a licensed trade

Typical referrals include:

• Data and low-voltage cabling. Many leases require abandoned cabling to be removed back to the source. That is a cabling contractor's job.
• Electrical. Removing added circuits, outlets or dedicated lines.
• HVAC. Removing supplemental units or restoring diffuser layouts changed during the fit-out.
• Demising walls and partitions. Taking down added walls changes the ceiling, floor and sometimes the sprinkler layout, so it needs a general contractor.
• Flooring. Replacing carpet tile or resilient flooring across a whole area.

Our technicians handle the light items and point out anything that crosses into a licensed trade, so you can book that work separately.

How to schedule the work

Batching saves money: one visit that patches, paints, relamps and adjusts doors beats three separate service calls. A workable sequence:

1. Furniture and equipment out first. Repairs go faster in an empty room, and you see damage that furniture was hiding.
2. Removals and patching. Take down everything mounted, then patch every hole in one pass so the compound can dry overnight.
3. Paint, ceilings and hardware. Sand and paint, swap tiles, relamp, adjust doors and fix plumbing.
4. Final clean. Cleaning last means the inspection happens in a suite that looks finished.
5. Walkthrough and sign-off. Walk the space with the property manager, fix anything on their list the same week, and get the acceptance in writing.

Leave at least two to three weeks between the walkthrough and the lease end date. A holdover, even a short one, can trigger rent at a penalty rate under many leases, and it is a poor trade for a few days of patching.

What drives the cost

There is no single price for a make-good, because it depends on the suite size and how the space was used. The factors that matter most are the number of mounted items to remove, how much wall area needs full repainting rather than touch-ups, whether ceiling tiles have to be special-ordered, how many doors need work, and whether the crew can work during the day or only after hours in an occupied building. A written scope built from the landlord's list is the only reliable way to price it. If you are comparing options, our Montréal commercial handyman cost guide explains how hourly and per-visit pricing usually work.

Frequently asked questions

Does a tenant have to repaint an office at the end of a lease?

Only if the lease says so or the walls are damaged beyond normal wear. Many office leases ask for the premises to be returned in good repair, which landlords often read as repainting walls with holes, marks or non-standard colours. Faded paint on its own is usually wear and tear. Check the make-good clause and ask the landlord for their list in writing.

How early should make-good repairs start?

Plan the walkthrough 60 to 90 days before the lease expires and book the repair crew right after it. That leaves time to order matching ceiling tiles and paint, to coordinate with any licensed trades, and to fix items from the landlord's final inspection without running into a holdover.

Can the landlord keep the deposit for small repairs?

Most commercial leases let the landlord deduct the cost of repairs the tenant was responsible for and did not complete. That is why it pays to finish the small items yourself and get a signed acceptance at the final walkthrough. The exact rules depend on the lease and the local law where the property sits.

Get your make-good list scoped

Send your landlord's list or a short description of the suite through our quote form, and we will return a written scope for the patching, painting, ceiling, door and fixture work. Steadle serves offices across Canada and the US, including Toronto and other cities on our locations page.