What does our lease actually require?

It depends entirely on the wording, and the two common standards — broom-clean and reinstatement — differ enormously in scope. Send the clause to whoever is quoting.

Do you do reinstatement work?

No. We are a clearance service. Removing partitions, making good and redecorating are contractor trades; we clear before and after them.

Can the clearance be phased?

Yes, and for a business winding down it is usually more manageable. Trading areas first, office last.

What documentation should we keep?

Completion photographs at minimum, and the written scope. Handback disputes arrive months later and photographs settle them.

Commercial guide · 6 min read

Commercial Property Cleanout Checklist

The scope of a commercial clearance is defined by a lease clause, not by what looks tidy. Read it before anyone quotes, because the two most common clauses mean very different amounts of work.

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Glass display cases, shelving and fixtures left in a vacated retail storefront

Broom-clean or reinstatement?

Broom-clean means empty and swept. It is a clearance job and nothing more.

Reinstatement means returning the space to a defined base condition — which can involve removing partitions you installed, taking out a kitchen, making good the ceiling, and redecorating. That is a construction project with a clearance attached to it, and it takes weeks rather than days.

Getting this wrong is expensive in both directions. Scoping a reinstatement as a clearance means missing the handback date; scoping a clearance as a reinstatement means paying for work you never owed.

The sequence

1
Read the clause
Get the actual wording in front of whoever is quoting. Not a summary of it.
2
Agree the scope in writing
Especially where a landlord and a tenant both have obligations in the same space.
3
Handle regulated items separately
Records shredding, IT destruction, refrigerant reclamation, anything hazardous.
4
Clear the space
Phased around a wind-down where the business is still operating.
5
Document and hand back
Completion photographs, and a joint walk-through where the lease requires one.

Spaces that get missed

Basement and sub-level storage
Roof plant areas and external stores
Shared storage allocated to your unit
The yard, loading area and skip enclosure
Signage, internal and external
Anything in a mezzanine or above a false ceiling
Assigned parking bays
Anything left with a neighboring tenant

Phasing around a wind-down

Businesses close in stages. Trading stops, the back office runs for a few more weeks, and then the last person switches the lights off.

A clearance can follow that rhythm — trading areas first, storage second, the office last. It costs a little more than one visit and it is enormously easier to manage.

Commercial property cleanouts