Lease Make Good Reports
“Taking the Stress Out of Your Lease”
What is Make Good and Why is it Important
"Make-good" refers to the tenant’s legal obligation to repair and "yield up" a property as detailed in the lease. Essentially, it is the process of fulfilling the maintenance promises made at the start of the tenancy. While typically addressed as a lease nears its end, a landlord can enforce repair and maintenance rights at any time during the lease period. Some obligations, are often ongoing during the lease period, while others, like vacating the site, are triggered at the lease's expiry. To formalise these requirements, landlords often commission a Make Good Report—a document that outlines the tenant's specific responsibilities and serves as a formal claim for any alleged breaches of contract. If the tenant disagrees with the landlord’s assessment they may commission their own assessment and then negotiate to arrive at an agreed settlement.
Independent Make Good Assessments & Negotiations
We are qualified and regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and have a Duty of Care even when acting as an advocate for one side, we remain objective in our technical assessment.
There are a few different types of make good report and each are used at different times.
Interim Schedule - identifies repair and maintenance items during the term of the lease.
Interim Assessment - produced during the term of the lease to forecast what the make good works and costs might when the lease expires.
Terminal Schedule - produced close to lease expiry to facilitate negotiations prior to lease expiry.
Final Schedule - used after the lease has expired and the tenant has moved out. The tenant no longer has access so can’t undertake the make good works. This typically results in a financial settlement.
Make good works are often extensive and attract a significant cost. For tenants, the logistics of moving and the pressure of new premises, many tenants find themselves blindsided by "Make Good" obligations. For landlords ensuring the property is returned to the condition agreed in the lease and negotiating with the tenant can be time consuming.
At LRM Property Advisory, we provide professional Make Good Reports designed to make this as smooth as possible for both parties. We can act for both parties jointly where collaboration is an option, or for either side as your experienced advocate ensuring that the final outcome is fair, reasonable, and agreed by both parties.
Why You Need a Professional Make Good Report
Without an independent assessment, tenants often overspend on unnecessary repairs or agree to inflated cash settlements. Our service provides the technical and contractual clarity needed to:
Validate The Other Sides Claims: We scrutinise the landlord’s Schedule of Dilapidations to ensure every requested repair is valid under your specific lease clauses.
Empower Negotiations: Our reports provide the evidence required to negotiate a financial settlement or an agreed scope of works.
Time Efficiency: We handle the technical inspections and costings, allowing you to focus on your business operations.
Our Comprehensive Process
We bridge the gap between the legal lease document and the physical reality of the building.
Lease Review - We analyse your "Make Good" and "Yield Up" clauses to understand your obligations.
Site Inspection - A thorough physical inspection to confirm the current condition of finishes, services, and structural elements etc.
Liability Assessment - We compare the current state against the original Schedule of Condition (if available) to determine true liability.
Cost Estimation - We provide accurate, market-based estimates for the required works, giving you a baseline for settlement talks.
Negotiation Support - We are governed by strict RICS ethical and professional standards to avoid a Conflict of Interest and can act jointly for both landlord and tenant to agree an outcome. Alternatively we can advocate for the landlord or tenant to reach a fair final agreement.
Works Management - We can project manage the make good works to leave the property in a condition agreed by the parties.
The LRM Advantage: Precision & Protection
Navigating a lease make good without professional advice often presents financial and reputational risk. LRM brings a balanced, evidence-based approach to the table.
Unbiased Expertise: We provide an objective view that holds weight in disputes.
Deep Market Knowledge: We understand Australian building standards and commercial leases.
Proven Results: We have saved our clients significant time and money.
Mitigate Risk: We manage the process to minimise the risk of costly legal disputes and reputational damage.
How We Tailor Advice To You
Here every step of the way: from the first discovery meeting to delivery of the report, our team has years of experience with some of Australia’s biggest lease agreements and are Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors qualified so you can rely on us for your next lease.