How a bay is measured, and why two 3,000 sq ft bays are not the same
Gross, rentable and usable area, where the measurement lines are drawn, how mezzanines are treated, and why measurement disputes happen.
Choosing and moving in
Moving into an industrial bay: the possession checklist
Utilities, insurance, licensing, keys, signage and the condition record — what to do in the weeks around taking possession of a bay.
Possession is a busy few weeks, and the things that get forgotten are the ones that cause problems months later. This is the sequence that works.
Before possession
- Confirm the insurance. Your lease will specify coverages and limits and require the landlord to be named. Get the certificate issued and delivered before the possession date — many leases make it a condition of taking possession.
- Open the utility accounts. Electricity, gas and water where separately metered. Do this at least two weeks out; a bay without power on possession day stops the fit-out before it starts.
- Apply for the business licence. Municipal licensing takes time and may require an inspection.
- Confirm the permits are closed out and that occupancy has been granted for your use.
- Arrange internet and phone. In industrial parks, service installation lead times are frequently the longest item on the list.
- Confirm the signage approval. Signage usually needs both landlord consent and a municipal permit.
On possession day: record the condition
This is the most valuable half hour of the entire tenancy. Before anything of yours enters the space, photograph and video everything — the slab, the walls, the doors inside and out, the panel, the heater, the washroom, the office, the roof access if you have it, the apron and the parking.
Date-stamp it and send a copy to the landlord with a short note recording any deficiencies you have found. A condition record agreed at the start is what prevents an argument about damage at the end. Without one, the argument is unwinnable.
The first week
- Get the keys, fobs and any alarm codes, and find out who else holds them.
- Test every overhead door, including the manual release.
- Test the heater and, if there is one, the make-up air unit.
- Locate and label the electrical panel, the gas shut-off, the water shut-off and the sprinkler control valve. Make sure staff know where they are.
- Confirm who monitors the fire alarm and who is on the call list.
- Confirm snow removal and waste collection arrangements — both are common sources of first-winter friction.
Before you rack or install anything
- Confirm the landlord's written consent for anchoring, racking and any alterations.
- Confirm the racking layout against the sprinkler design and the exit routes.
- Confirm any permit requirements for the installation.
- Tell your insurer what you are storing and how high.
Keep the file
Keep the lease, every permit and inspection report, the condition record, the insurance certificates, the utility account details and the correspondence about deficiencies in one place. You will need it at renewal, at assignment, at the end of the term, and any time there is a dispute about who was responsible for what.
Questions
Frequently asked
What insurance do I need for an industrial bay?
Your lease will set out the required coverages and limits — typically commercial general liability, coverage for your own property and improvements, and often business interruption and tenant's legal liability. Give the lease to your broker rather than describing it, so the policy matches the obligations.
Do I need a business licence for a bay?
In both Calgary and Edmonton, operating a business generally requires a municipal business licence tied to the address. Apply early — it can require an inspection, and the approval is tied to the use being permitted at that location.
What happens if I find a deficiency after possession?
Report it in writing immediately, with photographs, and refer to the landlord's work schedule or repair obligations in the lease. Deficiencies raised promptly and in writing get fixed; the same deficiency raised at the end of the term becomes an argument about who caused it.
Choosing and moving in
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How to choose an industrial bay
A working process for defining the requirement, shortlisting, inspecting properly and negotiating — with the checklist to take to every viewing.
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