Commercial Tenant Representation Services for a Relocation at Lease End

The relocation calendar, counted back from the expiry date

One workable version, for a move into a custom space:

• 18 months out: check the market. Walk a few alternatives and learn what the landlord would offer to keep you.
• 12 months out: decide. If the answer is to move, the search begins in earnest, with a shortlist and a test fit on the finalists.
• 9 months out: the letter of intent, then the lease. Allow one to two weeks for the first and three to five for the second.
• 6 months out: the buildout. A custom space typically needs 10 to 16 weeks after signing, and a furnished or pre-built floor two to four.
• The final month: the move, with a few weeks of overlap so the old floor can be handed back on time.

A later start is possible on a pre-built floor. It leaves less room for a real choice. Our timeline guide gives the detail by phase.

Staying and moving, priced on one page

One asking rent set against another is not a comparison. A representative lays the two futures side by side over the same number of years. On the stay side: the renewal rent with its escalations, less any concessions, plus whatever refresh you would pay for yourself. On the move side: the new rent with escalations, less free rent and the improvement allowance, plus the buildout above the allowance, furniture and cabling, the movers, a second security deposit posted before the first comes back, and rent on both floors during the overlap.

A move wins clearly when the team has outgrown the floor, when the building is declining, or when the market has shifted in tenants' favor since the lease was signed. Renew or relocate works through the full calculation.

Holdover: why the expiry date is not flexible

Staying past the end of a lease with no signed extension is holdover. Leases commonly set holdover rent at 150 to 200 percent of the last rent, and some add liability for the landlord's losses if the overstay delays the next tenant. It also ends your negotiating position, because everyone can see you cannot leave. If construction is running late and you need even a week, get a written extension; an email from the leasing agent is not one. Have your attorney confirm what your own clause says. The holdover entry explains the mechanics.

The move itself, and what to prepare before the search

Move week runs on building rules. Both buildings will want certificates of insurance from every vendor, a reserved freight elevator and loading dock, often an evening or weekend slot, and the old floor returned in the condition the lease requires. Order the internet circuit when the new lease is signed, not when the walls go up. Nomad's team coordinates the vendors and the logistics of the move into the new space.

Before the search, gather four things: the current lease with its expiry date, restoration clause and any renewal option; headcount now and in 12 to 18 months; a monthly budget; and what has stopped working about the current floor. The floors below are sized for about 75 people, a first look at what a team of that size would be choosing from.