Healthcare is a huge industry today and every type of healthcare provider requires medical office space in which to perform their practice. Whether the medical office space provides clinical services, diagnostic services, laboratory services or another niche of healthcare services, the needs of these providers differ greatly from the traditional office rental lease template. Here are a few of the most important issues and concerns to be aware of securing a medical office space lease that will help meet the unique needs of healthcare providers.

Convenience: All healthcare providers need to be in locations convenient to their patients. Competition can be fierce among healthcare providers and unless the office space is convenient, patients will simply go elsewhere. However, this is also true of traditional retail and office space. There is a larger concern with healthcare facilities; they need to have convenient access for handicapped visitors and those who are seriously ill. They need parking that is convenient to the entrance, wheelchair ramps available, and in some cases, it must be easy for patients on crutches to access.

Biohazards: No matter what type of healthcare practitioner is requesting your assistance in securing office space, there will be concerns about biohazards. There will likely be human biohazardous wastes collected and disposed of by the office space. Diagnostic equipment such as CT scanners or X-ray machines pose other hazards. Some landlords may be hesitant to consider the modifications required for such equipment. Special shielding, unique to the medical field, may have to be installed. In most cases, these situations will violate the standard lease language and need to be modified.

Tenant Finish: Medical facilities have especially unique requirements when it comes to remodeling the inside of office space. Traditionally, owners prefer to have any tenant finish performed by their own contractors, usually those that have performed similar remodeling for the in the past. Healthcare providers often require specialists to properly and safely remodel the leased office space. Often, the landlord will need to understand that the tenant finish will have to be done by contractors with whom they are not familiar. The property owner should retain the right to inspect work in progress and verify that mechanics liens are not attached on the property.
 
ADA: Medical facilities often require access for patients with special needs such as wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, and canes. They are, therefore, more likely than average to be scrutinized for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.  While the use may drive the need for additional ADA compliance, they will also want to avoid lease terms that cause them to pay the costs incurred for ensuring the building meets the strict compliance required. In most cases, the tenant will want to negotiate lease language that places this burden on the landlord.

Use: The use of traditional office space is outlined in the lease and is quite limited when viewed in terms of medical office space use. Wording which bars hazardous materials and biomedical wastes must be changed to prevent lease violations. The traditional boilerplate lease simply won’t work when dealing with the special needs of healthcare providers.
 
These are only a few of the areas of leasing medical office space that should be addressed by healthcare providers. Carefully read all lease language to ensure a healthcare provider can operate their practice within the language which is negotiated with the landlord.

The second biggest mistake made by tenants looking for office space is not allowing enough time for the process.  Far too often tenants will not get started early enough and have to settle for less than they could have had otherwise. This applies to tenants who are looking for conventional space and not executive suite, virtual office space, or co-working space. Typically a tenant can be in these spaces as soon as the next day or at least within the month.

Tenants looking for conventional office space under 10,000 should get started at least 6 months prior to their move in date. This will allow enough time to find some good alternatives, negotiate the best deal and have any tenant improvements completed for an on time move-in. This is true even in a soft market. In fact, even more so since there will be many more possibilities to investigate.

For office tenants over 10,000 square feet, at least 9 months should be allowed.  The larger the tenant, the more complicated the process and more time is needed.

For more information on the office leasing process and timing, visit our Office Leasing Process Schedule.

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According to a report by the real estate firm Studley, Chicago’s downtown office lease transactions are only about one-half of what its historical long term average has been. Completed office space transactions reached 1.1 million square feet in the 2nd quarter and 7.2 million over the past 12 months leaving the Class A vacancy rate in the Chicago CBD at 18.5%. With a market size of 120 million square feet of office space in the Chicago, Downtown area, this transaction rate is close to a complete stall.

Tenants are still slow to make decisions and transactions are taking longer to complete.  There are a number of larger tenants in the market now who will have to make a decision within the next several months as to what to do with their expiring office leases. The gap between landlord and tenant expectations are narrowing and deals are becoming easier to make.  As the economy picks up, these tenants will be making decisions and hopefully Chicago Office Space will see some better activity.

With office space vacancy rates at recent time highs, office rental rates down as much as 30% in many office markets and no bottom found in the woes for office building owners, now is a great time to renegotiate your lease. Even if you have 2 or more years left on your current office lease you may be surprised at the willingness of landlords to renegotiate. It is not a market specific phenomena, but one that is nationwide. It doesn't matter if you lease office space in Manhattan, Chicago, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles or even small markets such as Fresno, Raleigh or Rochester. Every office space market has been affected.   Many office building owners are having financial difficulties not only on the occupancy side, but also on the mortgage side. If a landlord has a refinance coming due, you may find yourself in a great position to blend and extend.  What this means is that you would extend your office space lease for another 3 to 5 years at a lower rate in order for the landlord to show to their office building lender that they have long term office space tenants.  No office building owner will agree to reducing a financially strong tenant's rent, unless the restructured agreement provides them with some sort of economic benefit. In this case while you are paying less rent, it turns out to be a win-win situation since your new lease will help in the refinance process for the office building owner.

How do you get this process started?
The best way is to contact your Local OfficeFinder Office Tenant representative. Office Tenant Representative services won’t cost you anything and they are professionals at negotiating office leases. OfficeFinder Office Tenant Reps average over 12 years of experience and many have advance designations earned though demonstrating their skills and knowledge. It is a no lose proposition for you. Give them a try. There is no obligation.