A worker in a hard hat fitting a suspended ceiling tile in an office corridor during a fit-out, circled, with the label Ceiling grid and tiles: lines, gaps, access
Ceilings are where fit-out snags cluster: grid lines, damaged tiles, missing access panels. Photo: U.S. Navy NMCB4 by Petty Officer 1st Class Justin Rayburn, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped and annotated)

Part of the guide: The Site Inspection Checklist to Run on Every Walkthrough

An office fit-out is snagged at practical completion, area by area, against the fit-out specification and drawings, before the tenant moves in. In UK practice it helps to know which category of work you are looking at: Category A is the landlord's base fit-out of the open floor, Category B is the tenant's own fit-out on top of it. Each is snagged against its own specification and fixed by its own contractor, and anything the tenant's works changed in the landlord's systems also needs the landlord's sign-off.

In the US the same split is usually called core and shell versus tenant improvements.

Comparison of UK office fit-out categories: Category A, the landlord's base fit-out with raised floors, suspended ceilings, base lighting heating and cooling, toilets and fire systems to the open floor; Category B, the tenant's fit-out with partitions, meeting rooms, kitchens, finishes, joinery, data and AV, and adapted fire alarm, lighting and cooling
Two contracts, two specifications, often two contractors. Know which one you are snagging.

Who snags what

  • The fit-out contractor snags its own work first, area by area, with its trades.
  • The tenant's project manager or cost consultant walks at practical completion and issues the snag list, often with the architect or interior designer for finishes.
  • The services consultant checks the mechanical and electrical installations and the commissioning results.
  • The landlord's surveyor checks that the works comply with the licence for alterations and have not compromised the building's systems, particularly fire alarm, sprinklers and cooling.

What to check

The commercial fit-out template has 28 checks in 7 areas: reception & entrance, open-plan areas, meeting rooms, wcs & showers, kitchenette, services & plant, fire & life safety. The defects that come up most often on office fit-outs:

  • Ceilings: grid lines straight, tiles clean, seated and cut neatly around fittings, access panels where the services need them.
  • Partitions and glazing: glass manifestations in place, door leaves aligned, acoustic seals continuous, deflection heads finished.
  • Doors and ironmongery: closers adjusted, fire doors closing fully onto their stops, signage correct.
  • Floors: carpet tile joints and direction, transitions level, floor boxes flush and accessible.
  • Services: every light and scene working, sockets and floor boxes live and labelled, cooling and ventilation balanced in meeting rooms, which overheat first.
  • Kitchens and WCs: seals, drainage, taps, appliances running, extraction working.
  • Fire and life safety: detector and sounder coverage after the new partitions, emergency lighting, signage, compartmentation where services pass through walls.
Commercial fit-out checklist template preview: 28 checks in 7 areas, with Pass, Fail and N/A boxes
Commercial fit-out: 28 checks in 7 areas. Print it or import it into the app.

Timing and occupation

Tenants usually want to move in the moment the space is usable, and the snag list is fixed around them. That works if the list is agreed before occupation, the items are numbered and located by room, and the contractor's access is planned out of hours. Items in meeting rooms and kitchens should be fixed before occupation; once people are using them, access becomes the problem.

A worker in a hard hat filling and finishing a wall beside a doorway during an office renovation
Making good after the trades: the last small repairs are where a fit-out snag list lives. Photo: U.S. Navy NMCB4 by Petty Officer 1st Class Justin Rayburn, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped)

Common mistakes

  • Snagging the landlord's work as the tenant's. A defect in the base build goes to the landlord, not the fit-out contractor.
  • Forgetting the fire alarm cause and effect. New partitions change detection and sounder coverage. Ask for the updated certificate.
  • Testing nothing. Switch every light, run the cooling in the smallest meeting room with the door shut, and try every door with a fire closer.
  • No record at handover. Dilapidations at the end of the lease start from the condition at the start. Photograph it.

What to do next

Get the Category A and B specifications, and the licence for alterations if there is one, before you walk. Snag area by area with the lights on and the services running, give each item a room, an owner and a due date, and agree the list before the tenant moves in.

The commercial fit-out template walks the floor area by area in Punch List AI; a Fail becomes an item with the area and trade filled in, and the report prints the walk as an appendix.

Snag the next fit-out on your phone

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Questions people ask

What is the difference between Cat A and Cat B fit-out?

In UK office practice, Category A is the landlord's base fit-out of the open floor (ceilings, raised floors, base services, toilets). Category B is the tenant's fit-out on top: partitions, kitchens, finishes, data and furniture.

Who fixes defects in a Cat A fit-out after a tenant moves in?

The landlord's contractor, under the landlord's building contract, unless the lease or an agreement says otherwise.

Is there a US equivalent?

Core and shell (the landlord's building) and tenant improvements (the tenant's fit-out) cover much the same split.

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