Not knowing the technical condition of your office costs far more than a regular inspection — and that usually becomes clear only during lease renegotiation. Why a technical assessment of office space is now a negotiating tool, and when to bring in a project manager — Helena Kudrewicz-Czarniecka from Walter Herz explains.

At the latest edition of Akademia Najemcy — "One Office, Many Perspectives" — a topic resurfaced at the roundtable discussions that rarely makes it onto the front pages of market reports. It wasn't about square footage, rental rates, or location. It was about blinds that jam. Ventilation that stopped working. Front doors that require unusual force to open.

Minor issues? Perhaps. But it's precisely these minor issues that can effectively erode the quality of daily team operations — and end up costing far more than a regular technical assessment of the space.

"I hear about these cases all the time," says Helena Kudrewicz-Czarniecka, Associate Director and Project Manager at Walter Herz. "Companies report the same faults for years and wait years for a response. And yet many of these problems could have been identified and resolved much earlier — during a technical assessment of the space, before lease renegotiation even begins."

Renegotiation instead of relocation. What comes next?

Today's office market offers limited choice. Available space in central Warsaw now stands at around 5% of total stock. New Class A buildings are being delivered more slowly than at any point in the past decade. For many companies, the question is no longer "where do we move?" but "how do we prepare well for renegotiating our current lease?"

This shifts the perspective significantly. Renegotiation isn't just a conversation about the rental rate. It's a moment when you need to know the technical condition of the space you plan to occupy for the next several years. Which defects have accumulated. What requires repair at the landlord's expense, and what you can negotiate as part of the new agreement. Without that knowledge, negotiations can quickly become a dead end.

"Tenants often don't realise that technical knowledge about the condition of their space is a real negotiating tool," Helena Kudrewicz-Czarniecka emphasises. "If you enter talks with the building owner without that kind of assessment, you're frequently negotiating blind. And that usually costs you."

Technical assessment as the foundation of an informed decision

Carrying out a technical assessment of occupied space is one of those steps that's easy to put off — and one whose absence tends to make itself felt at the worst possible moment. Just after a lease is signed, or in the middle of a fit-out.

A well-conducted assessment answers several key questions: which installations require attention, what falls under the landlord's responsibility versus the tenant's, what works can be planned as part of the fit-out or renegotiation — and, equally importantly, which elements pose a potential operational risk to the business.

Project management: not just for large-scale relocations

There's another issue that rarely gets discussed at the planning stage: who is actually going to manage all of this?

Technical assessment, contractor coordination, supervision of renovation schedules, budget oversight, communication with the landlord, sign-offs — this is a scope that frequently exceeds the capacity of an administrative team, particularly when the company is simultaneously operating, serving clients, and managing day-to-day processes.

"The most common mistake I see is the assumption that project management is only necessary for major relocations," says Helena Kudrewicz-Czarniecka. "But even refreshing a few zones, repairing or upgrading installations, or partitioning an additional office room during an active lease — these are all projects that require coordination, scheduling, and oversight, especially when they must not disrupt the everyday running of the office. Without that, it's easy to end up with delays, budget overruns, and conflicts with the landlord."

A project manager in an office fit-out or modernisation process takes on the entire coordination layer — from the diagnostic stage through planning to final handover. They set the schedule, vet contractor proposals, ensure that works comply with the design and regulations, and respond to unforeseen situations before they have a chance to become real problems.

For the company, this means above all being able to focus on core business operations while someone else makes sure the office is ready when it needs to be — and in the condition expected.

When is the right time to start?

Earlier than most companies actually do. If a lease expires in two years, that's the right moment to commission a technical inspection of the space. If the company is growing and planning a space reorganisation, it's worth knowing what you're dealing with before the fit-out project gets underway. If the same defects have been recurring for years, the answer may not lie in yet another request to property management — but in a systematic look at the technical condition of the office.

"I always say: better to know too early than too late," Helena Kudrewicz-Czarniecka concludes. "An office rarely signals its problems directly. But they're there — and sooner or later, they make themselves known."