Before Leasing a New Office in Sri Lanka: Verifying Handover and Infrastructure Responsibilities

Signing a lease for a newly built office does not necessarily mean the premises are ready for your business to start operating. For foreign companies entering Sri Lanka, the key pre-signing question is not the quality of the show suite, but who is responsible for handover, what condition the space will be delivered in, and who will resolve infrastructure issues.

In a new business park or commercial building, the developer, asset owner, landlord, property manager, main contractor and facility service providers may all be different parties. If a company deals only with sales or leasing staff without documenting responsibilities through identifiable contracting parties, handover documents and communication channels, it may face issues such as an executed lease but no active internet connection, no fit-out access, incomplete common areas or unavailable access credentials.

1. Distinguish the project promoter, landlord and handover party

The same contact person may arrange viewings, provide quotations and manage lease discussions. That does not mean they represent the same legal or operating entity in each capacity. Before signing, it is useful to identify the following roles separately:

Role	Questions the company should ask	Documents or records to retain
Project developer or construction-related party	Who is responsible for construction, completion of common areas and final project handover?	Project materials, responsibility statement, formal written confirmation
Landlord	Which entity will sign the lease, receive rent and perform the contractual obligations?	Contracting entity name, signing authority documents, payment details
Property manager	Who handles daily building operations, access control, maintenance requests and coordination of shared facilities?	Scope of property services, maintenance reporting channel, on-site contact
Handover coordinator	Who arranges inspections, key or access-card release, fit-out access and rectification of defects?	Handover plan, issue log, escalation contact
Infrastructure-related parties	Who applies for, installs, activates and maintains power, water, telecommunications and backup systems?	Interface responsibility matrix, application status note, service-provider contacts

The objective is not to request unnecessarily complex documentation. It is to turn verbal statements about responsibility into information that can be tracked. A leasing team may coordinate the process, but the company should know which party must respond, remedy an issue or explain the next steps if coordination does not lead to completion.

2. Confirm that the landlord can deliver the space

Before reviewing a lease, a foreign company should ask for a clear explanation of the leasing arrangement for the relevant premises. In particular, it should be clear whether the landlord is the property owner, an authorised manager, or an entity operating under an upstream lease or other operating arrangement.

The following points can be included in an internal due diligence checklist:

• Whether the office unit, floor, area measurement basis and ancillary areas stated in the lease match the site and quotation;
• Whether the landlord can sign the lease on behalf of the relevant rights holder and arrange actual handover of the office;
• If the project is still under construction, opening in phases or has incomplete areas, which handover scope applies to the company’s specific premises;
• Whether parking spaces, storage areas, meeting facilities, shared reception services and signage locations are included in the lease or require separate application or payment;
• How the parties will confirm and address differences between the actual delivered space and the initial presentation or floor plan.

For a project that has not been completed or is not yet fully operational, a company should not rely on an “expected move-in date” as the basis for its internal launch plan. It should ask which items are complete and which still depend on construction, inspections, service connections or third-party arrangements.

3. Break office handover into verifiable conditions

“Handover” may include the office itself, common areas, building systems and the conditions needed for the company’s own fit-out. What counts as operationally ready will differ by business. A light-asset services team may need only desks, connectivity and access control, while a team handling equipment, client visits, data processing or storage support may require more complete facilities.

Companies can assess handover status across the following four layers.

1. The office premises

Confirm the actual condition of the office boundary, locks, flooring, walls, ceilings, lighting, air-conditioning interfaces and sanitary facilities. For shell-and-core units, partially fitted spaces or units with unclear delivery standards, include current-condition photographs, floor plans and outstanding items in the handover record.

2. Building and common areas

Confirm whether lifts, corridors, reception areas, parking, loading areas, visitor registration, waste handling and common washrooms can be used in practice. If the company needs to bring in furniture, equipment or samples, it should also ask about access routes, freight-lift arrangements, permitted work hours and on-site management requirements.

3. Critical infrastructure

For infrastructure, it is not enough to ask whether a service exists. The company should also ask whether it has been connected, who activates it and what the company still needs to do. Review each of the following separately:

• Power supply, distribution interfaces and conditions for connecting company equipment;
• Water, drainage and sanitary interfaces;
• Fixed internet, mobile coverage, telecommunications lines and arrangements for service-provider site access;
• The operating boundaries for air-conditioning, fresh-air systems, backup power and other building systems;
• Interfaces between fire safety, security, access control and visitor management systems and the company’s fit-out or equipment installation.

Companies should not independently conclude from sales materials that these systems will support their operations. They should raise specific questions with the landlord and property manager based on their initial roles, equipment list, operating hours, visitor profile and data-connectivity requirements.

4. Fit-out and operational readiness

If the company plans to undertake its own fit-out, it should confirm who approves design drawings, who coordinates contractor access, which activities require prior notification, and who handles damage, delays or safety issues arising during the works. The fit-out contractor, property manager and the company’s project lead should use one coordinated communication process for site access and changes.

4. Use a responsibility matrix to avoid unclear ownership

Before signing, or during handover preparation, it is advisable to establish a responsibility matrix rather than relying only on email exchanges. The company’s project lead can maintain the matrix and ask the landlord, property manager and relevant service providers to confirm their respective scopes.

Work item	Party whose responsibility should be identified	Outcome the company should confirm
Office unit handover	Landlord or nominated handover party	Handover date, keys or access cards, defect record
Availability of common areas	Developer- or property-management-related party	Access routes, reception, lifts and parking arrangements
Activation of power and internet	Property manager, service provider or company-designated party	Application steps, on-site interfaces, activation conditions
Fit-out access	Company, property manager and fit-out contractor	Approval documents, construction window, site rules
Furniture and equipment move-in	Company and property manager	Loading arrangements, access permissions, responsibility boundaries
Defect rectification and escalation	Landlord or handover coordinator	Issue log, response process, escalation contact

A responsibility matrix does not replace the lease or professional advice. It can, however, help headquarters, the local team and external suppliers work from the same set of information. This is particularly useful when a company is simultaneously dealing with incorporation, recruitment, visa coordination and office preparation, as it can reduce delays caused by interdependent workstreams.

5. Handover points to document before signing

Companies can use the following questions when negotiating and reviewing lease documents:

1. In what condition will the premises be delivered, and which works will be completed by the landlord versus the tenant?
2. If defects, incomplete works or non-conforming items are found at handover, what is the process for recording, rectifying and confirming them?
3. When may the company conduct measurements, design work, fit-out, equipment installation and furniture delivery?
4. Who initiates activation of power, internet, access control and air-conditioning services, and what application materials must the company provide?
5. Who charges property management fees, shared-facility fees, fit-out management charges and service-provider fees, and what services do they cover?
6. If common areas or infrastructure are not yet ready for the company’s operational needs, who is the company’s formal escalation contact?

These matters should, where possible, be reflected in the lease, annexes, handover checklist or written confirmations accepted by both parties. For questions involving lease rights, cost allocation, default treatment or project approvals, companies should engage appropriately qualified professional advisers to review the relevant documents in context.

6. Align the office plan with the initial business plan

Office handover should not be managed as a standalone task. A company should work backwards from the conditions needed for its first employees to start, office equipment to arrive, connectivity to be tested, clients to be received, internal systems to go live and operations to begin. It can then assess whether the premises support that plan.

For example, if the initial team will frequently hold video meetings with an overseas headquarters, reliable connectivity and meeting-room arrangements may matter more than the style of the fit-out. If the business will import equipment or initial inventory, it should verify delivery, storage and post-customs-clearance receiving arrangements in advance. For documentation and responsibility allocation before equipment and initial inventory enter Sri Lanka, see “How to Build a Sri Lanka Customs Documentation and Responsibility Checklist Before Importing Equipment and Initial Inventory.”

For newly developed commercial projects, the more prudent approach is to manage “signing the lease” and “reaching an operationally ready condition” as two separate milestones. The first addresses the arrangement to use the space; the second depends on handover, infrastructure activation, fit-out coordination and the company’s own preparations being completed in parallel.

This content is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax or immigration advice. Specific requirements should be confirmed against the latest guidance from the relevant Sri Lankan authorities and appropriately licensed professional advisers engaged for the matter.