Fixturing period meaning in plain language
A fixturing period is early access to the premises before rent starts. The tenant uses it to build out, wire, furnish and move in. The lease usually treats the tenant as bound by most lease covenants from the access date, even though base rent has not begun. In Canada the term is common in offers to lease and leases for office, retail and industrial space.
Fixturing period versus free rent
The two are often confused. A fixturing period exists so the tenant can prepare the space before opening, and it normally ends on a fixed date or when the tenant opens for business, whichever comes first. Free rent, or a rent-free period, is a separate inducement that can start after occupancy. A lease can contain both, and each should have its own start date, end date and list of charges that still apply.
How long is a fixturing period?
There is no standard length. It is negotiated from the scope of the tenant work, permit timing, the condition the landlord delivers, and how much competition there is for the space. A light refresh of existing office space may need only weeks; a full build-out with new walls, mechanical changes and a permit can need several months. Build the request from a realistic construction schedule rather than a rule of thumb, and include permit review time.
Which costs apply during fixturing?
Base rent is usually deferred, but other charges often start on the access date. Check each one separately: additional rent or operating costs, property tax recoveries, utilities, HVAC outside normal hours, insurance, parking, and the cost of freight elevator or loading dock use. A fixturing period that is free of base rent but carries full additional rent is worth less than it first appears.
When the fixturing period starts and ends
The start is often tied to the landlord delivering possession in an agreed condition, sometimes after the landlord completes its own work. The end is usually the earlier of a fixed number of days or the date the tenant opens for business. If the start depends on landlord work, ask what happens when that work is late: whether the fixturing period moves with it, and whether the tenant has any remedy.
What to negotiate before signing
Confirm the access date and condition of delivery; the length of the period and whether it extends for landlord delay; which charges apply during it; insurance the tenant must carry before entering; approval of plans, contractors and permits; access hours, elevators and loading; and the exact rent commencement date. Put each point in the offer to lease so it carries into the lease document.
Common problems
Permits taking longer than the period allows. Landlord work finishing late while the fixturing clock runs. Opening early for business and ending the period sooner than planned. Construction rules, such as after-hours-only noisy work, slowing the schedule. Each of these is easier to address in the offer than after the lease is signed.
Why it matters
Its value depends on possession, permits, building access and which charges begin during the period.
What to request
Confirm access date, permitted work, insurance, utilities, additional rent, delay allocation and rent commencement.
Planning example
Place fixturing and construction on the critical path to occupancy. The example organizes arithmetic or evidence only; the transaction documents and facts determine the result.
Related decisions
Connect this term to the area, cost, building, flexibility and document provisions elsewhere in the office decision file.
Evidence boundary: office availability and quoted economics change. Confirm current premises, authority, area, costs, permitted use and documents for the specific transaction. Read the methodology.