Short answer
Read the lease first. It determines what may be altered, what needs written landlord consent, what the improvement allowance covers, who owns the work at the end, and whether you must restore the space when you leave.
Landlord approval is a schedule item, not a formality. Submission, review and comment take time that belongs in the programme from the start.
Accessibility and code compliance are triggered by the work, and can extend beyond the area you are altering. Establish the scope of that early, because it changes the budget.
On this page
What does the lease decide?
Before a designer draws anything, someone needs to read these clauses and write down what they say:
| Clause | What to establish |
|---|---|
| Alterations | What may be changed, and what requires written consent |
| Improvement allowance | The amount, what it may be spent on, and how it is drawn down |
| Approval process | What must be submitted, to whom, and how long they have |
| Contractor approval | Whether the landlord must approve your contractor, or requires their own |
| Building standard | Specified doors, hardware, ceiling, lighting or signage you must match |
| Working hours | When noisy work may happen — frequently evenings and weekends only |
| Building services | What capacity you have for power, data and cooling, and what a change costs |
| Restoration | Whether you must return the space to its original condition at the end |
| Ownership of improvements | Usually the landlord’s at lease end — which affects what is worth spending |
| Insurance | What cover your contractor must carry, and what limits the landlord requires |
The two that most often surprise tenants are restoration and working hours. A restoration obligation means the money you spend removing a wall may have to be spent again putting it back. And a building that permits noisy work only outside business hours changes both the programme and the labor cost substantially.
What does an improvement allowance really cover?
- Establish what the allowance may be spent on. Many cover construction and exclude furniture, cabling, signage and professional fees — which are exactly the costs a tenant assumes are included.
- Establish how it is paid. Reimbursement after completion is common, which means you fund the work first and need the cash flow for it.
- Ask what documentation triggers payment — lien waivers, final inspection, certificate of occupancy. Missing one delays reimbursement.
- Whether an unspent balance is lost or can be applied to rent varies, and it is worth knowing before the design is value-engineered.
- An allowance is a negotiating point, not a fixed number, particularly on renewal or on a longer term.
- Budget beyond the allowance. Almost every fit-out costs more than the allowance covers; the question is how much more and who pays it.
Bring the lease to the first meeting
What the lease permits, what the allowance covers and when noisy work is allowed shape a commercial fit-out more than any design brief does.
Jan Revels designs and general-contracts commercial interiors in Dallas, and works to the landlord's process rather than around it.
The landlord approval process
Treat this as a programme activity with a duration, not as a form to send.
- Establish what must be submitted. Usually drawings, specifications, contractor details and insurance certificates.
- Establish who reviews it and how long they have. Some leases specify a period; many do not, which is itself worth knowing.
- Submit complete. An incomplete submission restarts the clock and is the most common cause of delay.
- Expect comments. Building standard items, service routes and structural questions are the usual subjects.
- Get consent in writing before any work starts, and keep it.
- Confirm building rules for the contractor — elevator use, loading dock booking, badges, parking, waste removal, hot works permits. Each is small and each can stop a day.
Permits, code and accessibility
- Commercial permitting is more involved than residential, with sealed drawings often required and multiple review disciplines.
- Accessibility applies to the work and can extend beyond it. Alterations can trigger requirements for the path of travel to the altered area, including entrances, routes and restrooms. Establish the scope early; it is a budget item, not a detail.
- Texas Accessibility Standards sit alongside the federal ADA, and depending on scope and value a project may require registration and independent review.
- Occupancy, egress and fire rating are all engaged by moving walls. A plan that improves the layout and blocks an egress path will not be approved.
- Change of use — converting office space to something else — is a materially larger undertaking than a fit-out and should be confirmed at the outset.
- A certificate of occupancy may be required before you can operate, and it may also be what triggers the landlord’s allowance payment.
The jurisdictional differences across the area are covered in permits and trades in Dallas.
Working around an operating business
Most tenant improvements happen while the business continues to operate, and that constraint shapes the design as much as the brief does.
- Phase by zone. Work one area at a time, with staff relocated within the space, rather than disrupting everything at once.
- Establish the noisy work window from the lease and from the neighboring tenants, and plan demolition and coring into it.
- Dust and air. Sealed barriers and protection of the building’s air handling — the principles are the same as in a house, at a larger scale. See living through a remodel.
- Keep the accessible route open throughout, and keep egress clear. This is a compliance issue during construction, not only after it.
- Reception is the hardest zone to phase, because it cannot be closed. Plan a temporary arrangement rather than improvising one.
- Communicate with staff. A schedule on a wall, updated weekly, prevents most of the friction.
- Protect the building. Corridors, elevators and the loading route are the landlord’s property and damage to them is your cost.
A realistic sequence
- Read the lease and write down what it permits and requires.
- Survey the space and establish existing services capacity.
- Test fit. Does the headcount and the way the business works actually fit? This can change which space you take.
- Design and specification, including the accessibility scope.
- Landlord submission and approval.
- Permit submission and review.
- Pricing and contractor appointment, within any landlord approval requirement.
- Construction, phased around operations.
- Inspections and certificate of occupancy.
- Furniture, technology and move-in — and remember contract furniture has its own lead times, covered in furniture lead times and procurement.
Key takeaways
- Read the lease before anyone draws. It decides more than the brief does.
- Restoration obligations and restricted working hours are the two clauses that most often surprise.
- Establish what the allowance covers, how it is paid, and what documentation triggers payment.
- Landlord approval is a programme activity with a duration, not a form to send.
- Accessibility requirements can extend beyond the area you are altering.
- Phase by zone and plan a temporary reception rather than improvising one.
- Improvements usually become the landlord’s at lease end — which affects what is worth spending.
Frequently asked questions
What is a tenant improvement allowance?
A sum the landlord contributes toward fitting out leased space. What matters more than the figure is what it may be spent on — many allowances cover construction and exclude furniture, cabling, signage and professional fees — and how it is paid, since reimbursement after completion is common and means you fund the work first. Establish what documentation triggers payment, and whether an unspent balance is lost.
Do I need landlord approval for a fit-out?
Almost certainly, and in writing before work starts. The lease sets out what must be submitted, who reviews it and often how long they have. Treat approval as a scheduled activity with a real duration rather than a formality — incomplete submissions are the most common cause of delay, because they restart the review. Confirm whether the landlord must also approve your contractor.
Does a tenant improvement trigger accessibility requirements?
Yes, and they can extend beyond the area you are altering — alterations can engage requirements for the path of travel to the altered space, including entrances, routes and restrooms. Texas Accessibility Standards sit alongside the federal ADA, and depending on scope and value a project may require registration and independent review. Establish the scope early, because it is a budget item rather than a detail.
Can we stay open during the work?
Usually, by phasing the work zone by zone with staff relocated within the space rather than disrupting everything at once. The constraints are the lease's permitted hours for noisy work, keeping egress and the accessible route open throughout, and protecting the building's air handling from construction dust. Reception is the hardest zone to phase because it cannot close — plan a temporary arrangement deliberately.
Who owns the improvements at the end of the lease?
In most commercial leases, the landlord — improvements become part of the building. Some leases go further and require restoration, meaning you may have to pay to remove work you paid to install. Both facts belong in the decision about what is worth spending: fixed construction that stays behind is valued differently from furniture and equipment you take with you.
ASID Allied Professional Interior Designer · Chateau Concepts, Dallas
Jan has practiced interior design in Dallas since 1997 and founded Chateau Concepts in 2001. She holds a BFA in Interior Design from the University of North Texas. She designs and general-contracts residential and commercial projects across the Park Cities, Preston Hollow and North Dallas. Read her full profile →
Written and reviewed by Jan Revels before publicationWork with Chateau Concepts
Jan Revels handles both sides of a project in Dallas and the Park Cities — the design and the build.