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Commercial Lease Reinstatement Clause Singapore: What Make-Good Usually Means in 2026

By ifix.sg by Trends Interior Design Pte Ltd (UEN 200408913Z) · Last updated 12 Nov 2026 · Sources cited below

Short answer: A reinstatement or make-good clause in a Singapore commercial lease usually requires the tenant to return the premises to an agreed condition at the end of the term. The required end state is contractual, not a statutory default. Typical end states are: remove only what the tenant added, return the unit to the landlord’s base build, or hand back a bare shell. This page is explanatory and is not legal advice.

What a reinstatement clause usually does

Most Singapore commercial leases include a clause that requires the tenant to return the premises in a stated condition at the end of the term. Landlords and contractors also call this make-good, yielding up or dilapidations.

The clause is a contract term. It is not a government checklist with one standard for every office, shop or industrial unit [1][2]. Two tenants in the same building can have different obligations if their leases, licences for alterations or fitting-out plans are different.

This article is general information for business tenants and is not legal advice. It does not create a solicitor-client relationship, and it is not a substitute for reading your lease with a qualified lawyer. If the wording is unclear, the cost is material, or there is already a dispute, get legal advice before you instruct works or withhold anything from a deposit.

The three end states you will usually see

In commercial practice in Singapore, make-good wording tends to point to one of three end states [1]:

1. Remove tenant additions only. You take out partitions, joinery, branding and services that you (or a previous occupant you took over) installed, and you make good the surfaces you disturbed. Landlord finishes that were already there may stay, if the lease says so.
2. Return to base build. The target is the landlord’s original condition, often recorded in an inventory of fixtures, a set of base-build drawings, or photographs at handover of the unit to you. Items the landlord provided may have to be restored, not only the parts you added.
3. Bare shell. The unit is taken further back, sometimes including floor finishes, ceilings and a more complete isolation of services. This is usually the heaviest and most expensive reading of a make-good clause.

The labels above are a way to read the documents, not legal categories. Your lease may mix them, or it may list exceptions (for example, “the landlord’s floor trunking shall remain”). A side letter, an approved fitting-out plan, or a later licence for alterations can change the picture as much as the main clause.

That is also why a per-sq-ft rate, on its own, is a weak way to budget. A light “remove what you added” scope and a bare-shell scope on the same floor can sit at opposite ends of the published cost bands. Trends Interior, which operates ifix.sg, publishes office reinstatement at about S$10–S$20 per sq ft, with a fixed price after a site assessment [6]. Other published 2026 office bands run from about S$3–S$8 for a light scope to S$18–S$30+ for heavy or Grade A work. Those figures are indicative; see the office reinstatement cost guide for sources.

When does the reinstatement obligation usually arise?

Tenants sometimes assume they can finish the works in the weeks after the lease ends, and settle up later. That can be a costly reading.

In HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore) Ltd v DNKH Logistics Pte Ltd [2023] SGHC(A) 13, the Appellate Division of the High Court considered a reinstatement dispute and treated the obligation as crystallising when the lease came to an end [3]. The case turned on its own facts and lease wording, so it should not be treated as a template for every tenancy. The practical warning is still useful: if works are incomplete at expiry, the landlord may already be in a position to claim costs, deduct from the security deposit, or charge holding-over or other sums provided in the lease.

Again, this is not legal advice. If you are close to expiry, or already past it, speak to a lawyer about your position, and in parallel get a contractor to price the outstanding works so you know the practical options.

Retail leases and the Code of Conduct

For certain retail premises, the Code of Conduct for Leasing of Retail Premises in Singapore sets expected conduct between landlords and tenants, including around pre-termination [4]. Legal commentary on commercial reinstatement notes that a tenant may still have to reinstate even when a retail lease ends earlier than the original term [2].

The Code does not replace your lease, and not every shop is covered in the same way. If you are a retail tenant considering an early exit, read the Code, the lease and any side letters together, and take advice if the exit payment and the make-good scope are both in play.

Mall handbooks can add another layer: nominated contractors, after-hours work, and a landlord inspection process that is stricter than a simple clause on paper. Those rules do not rewrite the lease, but they often decide how long the works take and what a quote must include.

What JTC publishes about returning premises

If the landlord is JTC, do not rely only on a standard private-lease reading. JTC’s public guidance on returning premises includes [5]:

• an email reminder about a year before the lease expires
• a joint inspection, often around six months before the end date
• a requirement that reinstatement works be completed before expiry
• double rent from the expiry date if the works are not finished in time
• a possible Environmental Site Assessment where the use involved pollutive materials

Those steps should sit in your handover calendar alongside the clause itself. See the reinstatement handover checklist for a month-by-month view, and how long reinstatement takes for on-site durations.

How should a tenant read the clause before works start?

A practical reading, before you invite quotes, looks like this:

1. Pull the reinstatement or make-good clause, the schedules, the approved fitting-out plans, and any licence for alterations or side letter.
2. Write down, in plain language, the end state you think the documents require, and any items that are clearly excluded.
3. Gather the original inventory, condition photographs and as-built drawings. If you do not have them, ask the landlord or building manager early. Missing records are a common reason inspections drag on.
4. Note the expiry date, any notice requirements, the inspection process, and what the lease says about deposits, holding-over and the landlord’s right to carry out the works themselves.
5. Share that pack with a reinstatement contractor so the quote is priced against your lease, not against a generic strip-out.

A contractor can tell you what the works will involve and what they will cost. They cannot give you a legal opinion on a disputed clause. Keep those two jobs separate, even when you are in a hurry.

Typical cost and timing implications

Once the end state is clear, budgeting becomes more honest. A light office scope and a heavy Grade A or bare-shell scope are different projects, even at the same floor area. On-site time for office work is commonly a few days to about four weeks after approvals, with heavier scopes at the long end of that range [6].

What often gets missed in a first reading:

• services that were diverted or upgraded during the fit-out, and must be isolated or put back
• fire-protection or SCDF alterations that followed the original layout
• signage, window vinyl and reception joinery that feel like furniture but are fixed to the building
• floor boxes, raised floors and ceiling voids, which can move a job from standard to heavy

If you are still at the start of a lease, reading the clause before you renovate the office or shop can save money later. A fit-out that will have to come out in three years is part of the true cost of occupying the unit.

ifix.sg is a brand of Trends Interior Design Pte Ltd (UEN 200408913Z). We can review the make-good wording with you, survey the unit and issue a fixed-scope quotation. WhatsApp +65 9863 5364. For legal interpretation of the lease, please speak to a lawyer.