Most commercial fit-out disputes are not about workmanship. They are about scope that one party assumed was inside the number and the other had priced outside it. This page sets out what a turnkey commercial fit-out normally includes, the eight lines usually excluded, who obtains which approval, and what should arrive on handover day.
The defining feature of turnkey is not the length of this list. It is that one contractor holds all of it against a single Bill of Quantities, so the coordination between trades is their problem rather than yours.
Reviewed by Pradeep Kumar Vasadi, Principal — on-site execution and delivery.
Demolition of existing works, blockwork and drywall partitions, cabin enclosures, glazed partitions and doors, and making good to the landlord's shell. On a second-generation space this is usually larger than owners expect, because removing a previous tenant's fit-out is its own line.
Internal electrical distribution from the tenant panel, lighting circuits, small power and floor boxes, data and voice containment, and the coordination of every service above the ceiling. What sits outside the demise — plant, risers, the building's core — is almost always the landlord's.
False ceiling systems and the access provision within them, flooring supply and laying, painting, wall panelling and acoustic treatment. Acoustics is the line most often value-engineered out early and regretted after occupation.
Cabins, reception and counters, storage, pantry units and workstation fabrication, with hardware named by brand and series in the BOQ. This is the scope where grade differences are invisible on site and obvious in year three.
Sequencing the trades, supervision, materials on site when they are needed, and a named person accountable for the date. On a commercial project with a rent-paying occupation deadline, this is frequently the most valuable thing in the contract.
A written snag list worked to closure, final cleaning, and the documentation set described below. A handover that consists only of keys has skipped the part that protects you.
None of these are dishonest exclusions — most are genuinely the landlord's scope or the tenant's own. The problem is when they go unstated, because the cheaper of two quotes is very often just the one that excluded more.
| Line | Typically carried by | Why it matters when unstated |
|---|---|---|
| Landlord base-build works | Landlord | Shell condition varies enormously; a “warm shell” and a bare shell are different projects at the same stated rate |
| HVAC plant and core services | Landlord | The building's plant sits outside; HVAC within your demise is inside our published band. A large sum sitting on the boundary, so name which side each part is on |
| Fire detection and suppression tie-in | Building consultant | Modifying the base system usually forces the building's own consultant into the programme, with their timeline |
| IT active equipment | Tenant | Containment and cabling are fit-out scope; switches, access points and servers are not |
| Loose furniture and seating | Tenant, commonly | Frequently excluded by others, but inside our published band — which is exactly why the basis has to be compared rather than the number |
| Approval fees and deposits | Tenant | Mall and building fit-out deposits can be substantial and are rarely inside a contractor's rate |
| DG and UPS provision | Landlord or tenant | Depends entirely on the building; genuinely ambiguous, so it must be named either way |
| Access control and CCTV | Tenant | Often a specialist vendor with its own lead time that the fit-out programme has to accommodate |
The practical test. Put both quotes side by side and add every line one excluded and the other included back onto the cheaper one. The gap between two commercial quotes usually closes substantially — and occasionally reverses. The same method applied to residential quotes is set out in our quote comparison guide.
This varies by building more than any other part of a commercial fit-out, so it has to be settled in the contract rather than assumed. The division below is the common pattern — your lease and the building's fit-out guide override it.
Usually prepared and submitted by the tenant's contractor, approved by the landlord. The approval confirms what may be altered, what may not be touched, and how services tie in. Build before this lands and you risk being asked to take it out.
Malls almost always run their own fit-out approval with prescribed drawing standards, permitted working hours, barricading requirements and a refundable deposit. It is a real constraint on the programme, not a formality, and the deposit is rarely inside a contractor's rate.
If detection or suppression is being modified rather than merely extended, the building's own consultant is usually pulled in, and their availability becomes a dependency on your critical path. Establish this early — it is a common cause of a programme slipping for reasons nobody priced.
Who submits, who pays the fee, and what happens to the programme and the price if approval is delayed. Ambiguity on the third is what turns an approval delay into a dispute rather than a variation.
Ask for this list at contract stage rather than on the day. It is far easier to agree in advance than to assemble afterwards, and a contractor who will commit to it in writing is telling you something useful about how they work.
Written, itemised, with every entry either closed or carrying a date. A verbal walkthrough is not a snag list.
Reflecting what was actually built, not what was originally drawn. The two diverge on every project; the question is whether the difference was recorded.
Final circuit and point positions. You will need this the first time anything is moved, added or diagnosed.
Hardware and appliance documents stating the actual model and series fitted — not a generic brand claim.
What was fitted where, and confirmation that material grade matches the signed BOQ. On our contracts the signed grade is what the carcass warranty is conditional on, which is precisely why it has to be documented.
What is covered, for how long, and the process for reporting a defect. Agreed in the contract, restated at handover.
Durations below are recorded delivery, not estimates. Where we have not delivered at a given scale, this page says so rather than extrapolating quietly.
| Project | Type | Scope | Delivered in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vridhi | Office | Siruseri, Chennai · 600 sq ft | 5 weeks |
| Vedant Petrochem | Office | Hyderabad · full fit-out | 10 weeks |
| KG360 | Office | Chennai · 5,450 sq ft · full fit-out | 12 weeks |
| Cha Republic | Mall kiosk | Aparna Neo Mall, Shamshabad · 300 sq ft | 4 weeks |
| Tai Tai | F&B | Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad | 6 weeks |
| La Pino’z Pizza | F&B | Kokapet, Mokila and Q City, Gachibowli — three outlets | Duration not recorded |
| Dessert Addictions | Cafe | Chennai · launch-ready | Duration not recorded |
We are also currently delivering a seven-site commercial branch fit-out programme across West Godavari and Eluru districts of Andhra Pradesh, with weekly updates published until each site hands over. Those sites are in progress, not delivered, and are labelled that way on the programme page — they do not count toward the record above.
Everything between the landlord's shell and an occupiable space: civil and partitions, internal services, ceilings, flooring and finishes, joinery and workstations, supervision, snagging and handover. The defining feature is that one contractor holds all of it against one BOQ.
Base-build works, HVAC plant, fire system tie-in, IT active equipment, loose furniture, approval fees and deposits, DG or UPS, and access control or CCTV. Ask for the exclusions in writing before comparing quotes — the cheaper number is often just the one that excluded more.
Generally the contractor prepares and submits fit-out drawings, the landlord approves them, and malls run a separate process with their own standards and deposit. Settle who submits, who pays, and what happens to the programme if approval slips.
A closed snag list, as-built drawings, the electrical layout, warranties with models named, the hardware schedule with grade confirmation against the signed BOQ, and a written defect liability position. Agree the list at contract stage.
Per line, often slightly. In total, frequently not — separate trades create coordination gaps that cost real money and real weeks. Where separate appointment wins is when you have an in-house projects team to run the coordination.
₹3,000–₹10,000 per sq ft of carpet area, all-in including MEP, HVAC and loose furniture, exclusive of GST. Wider in scope than the exclusions table above, which describes the market's common practice rather than our band. Before comparing it with any other figure, confirm the other is also on carpet area, also all-in, and also states its GST position. Many published bands state no basis at all, and among those that do, it is often not the basis attached to the rate.
Turnkey describes the delivery scope; design-and-build describes who drew it. A turnkey contractor can build to your architect's set without having designed it, which keeps an independent party available to check the work.
Yes, phased zone by zone with dust screens and out-of-hours working, but it lengthens the programme and carries a premium — a phased sequence cannot overlap trades the way an empty floor plate can. Agree the working-hours restriction before pricing.
Projects start on a 20% deposit of the total contract value, adjusted against the final invoice. The balance is released against milestones tied to progress — material procurement, civil and carpentry completion, finishing and handover — and the exact milestone schedule is written into each project's payment schedule, because it moves with size, scope and site condition. Published rates are exclusive of GST. Because turnkey pricing is a single number over a wide scope, the milestone list is where you see what you are paying for and when — it is written into the project's payment schedule, not assumed.
Anchored to delivered work: a 600 sq ft premium office took five weeks, a restaurant six, a Hyderabad office roughly ten, and a 5,450 sq ft Chennai office roughly twelve from signed scope to handover. Your own date is estimated at BOQ stage and confirmed in writing. Anything outside the signed BOQ is a variation: costed and confirmed in writing before it is executed, with its own price and timeline impact.
With those two documents we can tell you what sits inside the fit-out scope, what your landlord is carrying, and what the approval route will do to the programme — before anyone prices anything. What you get back is an itemised BOQ with quantities, rates, named hardware and grade stated per zone, plus a written exclusions list.