Before you appoint an office fit-out contractor, sit down with the landlord or building representative and work through the scope. Who supplies the drawings? Who can authorise a change to an existing service? Who closes the building’s comments at the end? Write down the answers and keep them with the contractor’s appointment.
Use your lease, the current building fit-out guide and the project’s approval requirements to settle the split. Each office needs its own agreement. When reviewing an office fit-out proposal with Halo, mark anything that still needs an answer instead of letting it become an assumption in the programme.
Check what you are taking over
Start with a condition survey before alterations begin. The survey should distinguish landlord-provided assets from retained tenant installations and the new work you are proposing. Take photographs and label equipment so the people reviewing the records later can tell what they are looking at.
The building representative can provide the available approved drawings and service information. Your specialists then need to establish what still requires a site check. Where information is missing, record the investigation needed and who will arrange access. Label drawings supplied for reference with their status.
For retained services, establish where the building’s installation ends and your proposed work begins. A ceiling layout may show equipment without settling who is allowed to alter it or arrange an isolation. Those boundaries need confirmation from the responsible parties before the affected design is released.
Work through the responsibility checklist
Take this sheet into the scope meeting. For each row, add a named contact, the document you are relying on and whether the answer is confirmed or still open. The questions are prompts for agreement; they do not assign obligations to either party.
| Item | Responsibility to confirm | Record to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Existing condition | Who surveys the unit and acknowledges the baseline? | Dated survey and photographs |
| Building information | Who supplies drawings and confirms service boundaries? | Drawing register and outstanding-information list |
| Design submissions | Who prepares, signs and submits each package? | Submission schedule with named parties |
| Shared-system work | Who authorises access, isolation and restoration? | Agreed specialist work arrangement |
| Site access | Who confirms work windows, deliveries and common-area protection? | Current building requirements and access plan |
| Completion | Who supplies records and closes building comments? | Completion schedule and document register |
| Future reinstatement | Who confirms what must be retained or removed at lease end? | Reference to the agreed lease requirements |
Now compare the sheet with the contractor’s inclusions. Halo’s fit-out tender comparison guide can help you spot gaps between proposals. If another party is carrying out an item, give it a contact and a place in the programme too.
Name the person preparing each submission
Keep the application preparer and the approving body in separate columns. Add the person supplying each supporting document. You should be able to see what the tenant needs to provide and which decisions sit outside the contractor’s control.
For example, the Dubai Development Authority fit-out permit service lists a contractor appointment letter from the tenant and an NOC from the building owner among its requirements. That example applies to the DDA route. Your project team needs to verify the route and scope applicable to your building.
Track the required permissions before the relevant work starts. When a reviewer requests a revision, name the person responding and the person updating the site information. Remove superseded drawings from the active construction set so the crew has the current instruction.
Agree how to handle an unexpected condition
If opening-up reveals a problem, the project lead needs to identify the affected work and who can authorise the response. Record whether it concerns an existing building asset, tenant work or a boundary that is still unresolved.
Get the instruction agreed by the responsible parties before the affected activity continues. Update the scope and programme together, keeping a record for the tenant and a current instruction for the next trade.
At completion, use the office handover checklist to organise the operational records. Check the responsibility sheet for separate building close-out items and give each one a person responsible for finishing it.
To arrange an office renovation assessment, send Halo the building guide and available unit drawings, with a description of how you plan to use the office. Include the unfinished responsibility sheet. The open questions belong in the scope discussion before mobilisation.
