Chapter 26 - § 26.6 • WORK SCHEDULE

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 26.6 • WORK SCHEDULE

Work letters usually specify in detail the schedule for completing the tenant finish. The schedule is important because it usually ties to the commencement date of the lease. Often, the date the obligation to pay rent starts is also tied to the completion of the tenant finish. If the tenant can hold the landlord to a fixed date for completion of the landlord's work, the tenant may be able to exact from the landlord a penalty, such as one day of free rent for each day of delay or an amount of liquidated damages for each day of delay. A tenant may also seek actual and consequential damages for a delay, which the landlord will resist. The landlord usually wants extensions for delays caused by the tenant or matters outside its control.

The tenant should be sure that the work schedule is realistic because this helps to avoid the possibility of not having a place to conduct its business. Sometimes the space-planning process takes more time than the tenant thinks. Depending on the nature and structure of the tenant's business, the space-planning process may raise organizational and business issues that previously did not matter, or problems that were hidden below the surface.

§ 26.6.1—Steps in the Process

If the tenant is starting the space-planning process from scratch after the lease is signed, the work letter will detail a series of steps to get to construction drawings, which are what the contractor uses to construct the tenant finish. The usual steps are:

1) Development of the concept plan or preliminary space plan;
2) Preparation of the space plan;
3) Preparation of architectural drawings and plans and specifications;
4) Selecting the contractor(s) (and perhaps some of the major sub-contractors) who will bid for the work;
5) Getting an estimate or putting the work out forbids;
6) Negotiating the construction contract(s); and
7) Completing the work.

§ 26.6.2—Landlord's Approval

After each step, the work product is submitted to the landlord for approval. It is better for both parties that the landlord gets involved early in the process, so the tenant does...