What to check when you tour commercial space

General information, not tax or legal advice. Every deal is different. Talk to your lawyer and accountant before you act on anything here.

Every space

• How the space was measured, and the rentable and usable areas.
• Total cost per year, not only base rent, including additional rent and GST.
• When a permit was last pulled, and what code upgrades a new permit might trigger.
• HVAC age and who maintains it.
• Washrooms, accessibility and exits.
• Parking, loading and transit.
• Signage rights.
• What the zoning allows for your use.

Office

• Load factor, and whether the floor is shared or full.
• Building hours, and the cost of after-hours heating and cooling.
• Elevators, lobby and security.
• Where telecom service ends, and how it reaches your floor.
• Whether the slab is post-tensioned, which limits core drilling.
• Window line and natural light across the floor.
• Fresh air and windows that open.

Industrial

• Clear height, measured to the lowest obstruction, usually the sprinkler heads.
• Column spacing and the racking layout it allows.
• Dock doors, grade doors and truck turning room.
• Power: amps, volts and phase.
• Floor slab, and its loading for your racking or machinery.
• Sprinkler system type.
• Floor drains, and where they drain to.
• Yard space and shared costs in past years.

Retail and restaurant

• Frontage, visibility and which side of the street gets your customers.
• End cap or in-line unit.
• Co-tenants, and any exclusive-use clauses that affect you.
• Whether the unit is a bare shell or has services stubbed in.
• For food: venting route, grease interceptor, floor sinks, gas and water capacity.
• Garbage and delivery access.
• Which uses the zoning permits outright and which need approval.

After the tour

Write down what you saw the same day, while it’s fresh. Compare spaces on total cost and on the work each needs, not on asking rent. Then we pick the best one or two and put an offer to lease together.

Questions people ask

How many spaces should I tour?

Enough to know what the market offers at your budget. Then narrow it to two or three for second visits.

Should I bring a contractor?

For any space that needs work, yes, at least on the second visit. A rough cost estimate before the offer helps you negotiate the allowance.