Office Fit-Out MEP Scope: Base-Build and Tenant Boundaries

Updated 6 Oct 2026 · 11 min read · by Secured Engineers Editorial Team

Two engineers in hard hats hold a drawing and point up at the exposed base-build services — cable trays, ducts and red fire mains — of an unfinished office floor that meets a fitted-out tenant space behind glass partitions.

In an office fit-out, the landlord’s base build and the tenant’s work meet at a line rarely drawn on any single drawing: a tap-off box on the rising main, a pair of chilled-water valves, the end of a sprinkler range pipe, a spare address on the fire-alarm loop. Fix that line before design starts and the fit-out has a priceable scope. Leave it vague and the scope, budget and programme get decided by whoever answers the first site query. This guide covers the four things that decide the line: the landlord’s capacity schedule, tenant alterations to base-build systems, metering and maintenance, and completion and reinstatement.

Landlord capacity schedules: the document to ask for first

A capacity schedule is the landlord’s written statement of what the base build provides to a tenancy and what it keeps for the rest of the building. Ask for it before the layout is frozen: every MEP quantity in the tenant’s scope is the gap between what the layout needs and what the schedule provides.

System	Ask the landlord for	Why it decides the fit-out scope
Power	Allocated demand (kW or kVA — ask which), the supply point (bus-duct tap-off, rising main or floor DB), breaker rating, and DISCOM meter or landlord sub-meter	Sizes the tenant’s distribution; extra load needs the landlord’s consent or a load extension by the connection holder
Backup power	DG and UPS allocation in kVA, which circuits are DG-backed, how changeover works	Decides which loads ride through an outage and which need the tenant’s own UPS
Cooling	Allocated TR at stated design conditions; chilled-water stubs, condenser loop, VRF outdoor space or none; operating and after-hours terms	A denser layout needs supplementary units, with space, drainage and power
Fresh air and exhaust	Fresh-air quantity to the floor; toilet, pantry and any kitchen exhaust provisions	Rooms added after the allocation — meeting rooms, pantries, cafeterias — can end up short of air
Sprinklers	Design basis, range-pipe layout, zone valves, and the rules for relocating heads	Every partition and ceiling change moves heads, and the building’s fire approval rests on them
Fire alarm	Spare loop addresses, interface points the tenant may use (door release, AHU shutdown, voice evacuation), who programs the panel	A parallel tenant panel leaves alarms that never reach the building’s own panel
Risers	Allocated space in electrical, ELV and plumbing risers; the fire-stopping method for new penetrations	Unallocated space goes first-come-first-served — see why risers run out mid-lease
Water and drainage	Stub locations, permitted wet zones, waterproofing responsibility	A pantry away from the stubs means coring a slab above another tenancy
Structure	Permissible floor loads and the core-cutting procedure, from the landlord’s structural engineer	Only a structural engineer can place UPS batteries, compactors or server racks
Approvals	Status of the building’s occupancy certificate and fire approval; whether the authority approves tenant fit-outs separately	Some authorities treat significant internal changes as an amendment to the fire approval

If the landlord has no schedule, the fit-out still needs one: measure tap-off ratings, valve sizes and spare loop capacity on site, and have the landlord confirm them in writing before the design is priced.

Tenant alterations: what changes when you touch base-build systems

Electrical alterations are licensed, certified work

Regulation 31 of the Central Electricity Authority (Measures relating to Safety and Electric Supply) Regulations, 2023 requires electrical installation work — including additions and alterations, beyond like-for-like replacement of lamps, fans, fuses, switches and similar fittings — to be done by an electrical contractor licensed by the State Government, under the direct supervision of a holder of a certificate of competency. Regulation 45(6) adds that an alteration must not be connected to supply until it is approved in writing by the Electrical Inspector or self-certified, as the case may be. Where the tenancy is fed from the landlord’s installation, the fit-out agreement should say whose licence covers the work and who signs the certification.

In multi-storeyed buildings more than fifteen metres high, regulation 38(3) also requires fire barriers at each floor crossing in service ducts, no other services in ducts meant for power cables, fire-retardant low-smoke low-halogen power cables, bus-bar trunking for floor distribution and no meters in staircase passages. Tenant cabling in the landlord’s riser falls under the same rules, so the specification should name the cable type and the fire-stopping method.

Fire-system changes belong in the building’s fire records

Partitions, ceilings and new room uses change sprinkler coverage and detector spacing. NBC 2016 Part 4 (Fire and Life Safety) is the framework; the obligation that bites is the building’s approved fire scheme. Changes should be designed by a competent fire designer, installed by an agency the landlord accepts, tested, and added to the landlord’s master drawings. Whether a change also needs the fire authority’s approval depends on the authority and the extent of the change — the same question as a change of use or an expansion, to be settled before drawings are issued.

Capacity beyond the allocation is the landlord’s decision

Extra cooling, extra power or a 24×7 server room draw on plant allocated to other tenancies. Make each a written request with a written answer: approved from base-build capacity, approved as a tenant-owned supplementary system with its location, power source and drainage stated, or refused.

Decision table: who decides each fit-out change

Fit-out change	What it touches in the base build	Settle before design	Usually signed off by
New cabins, meeting rooms or ceilings	Sprinkler and detector layout; air paths	Relocation design, installing agency, update to master fire drawings	Landlord’s fire-scheme holder; fire authority where it requires
Higher power density (labs, racks, kitchens)	Allocation, riser, bus-duct, DG and UPS capacity	Written load approval or a load-extension route	Landlord; DISCOM if the sanctioned load changes
Cooling beyond the allocation	Central plant or condenser loop; roof or façade space	Supplementary system, location, condensate drainage, power, after-hours terms	Landlord’s engineer
Server or UPS room	Floor loading, 24×7 cooling, detection and suppression, battery ventilation	Structural check, dedicated cooling, suppression alarm interface	Landlord’s structural engineer and fire designer
New pantry or toilet	Water and drainage stubs, waterproofing, exhaust	Location against stubs; who warrants the waterproofing	Landlord
Access control on doors	Escape routes and the building fire-alarm panel	Which doors release on alarm; how the interface is wired and tested	Fire-scheme designer; landlord’s panel contractor
Cafeteria with cooking	Kitchen exhaust shaft, fire dampers, gas, suppression	Whether a kitchen exhaust provision exists at all	Landlord; fire authority where it requires
Tenant DG or rooftop equipment	Roof or yard space, structure, exhaust, fuel, noise	Location, structural check, statutory consents	Landlord and the relevant authorities

Metering and maintenance demarcation

Electricity. The tenancy either has its own DISCOM connection or is supplied from the landlord’s connection and recovered through sub-meters. Which is possible depends on the state’s supply code. In Punjab, for example, PSPCL’s new-connection FAQ allows a separate connection in the name of an independent entity for a duly partitioned, electrically separated portion of premises, and asks a tenant seeking one where a connection already exists to deposit consumption security at twice the normal rate. With sub-metering, agree the meter specification, who reads it and how DG-backed units are charged — see tenant sub-metering disputes.
Cooling. Where one chilled-water plant serves several tenancies, energy (BTU) meters on each tap-off measure the cooling delivered; without them the split is by area — see how CAM disputes become metering disputes.
Maintenance. Regulation 32(8) of the CEA 2023 regulations makes the owner of an installation responsible for keeping it free from danger, and NBC 2016 Part 12 (Asset and Facility Management) covers the maintenance responsibilities of facility managers and occupants. In a lease that becomes a matrix: base-build plant, risers and the fire system with the landlord; tenant distribution, supplementary AC and ELV with the tenant; and the interfaces — sprinkler heads in the tenant’s ceiling, detectors on the building loop, the tenant DB on the landlord’s tap-off — named one by one, because each party assumes the other maintains them. A worked version is in the landlord–tenant responsibility matrix.

Completion and reinstatement obligations

A fit-out is complete when the landlord holds the records it needs to keep the building’s approvals and maintenance intact. At completion, the tenant hands over:

As-built electrical, HVAC, fire and ELV drawings, merged into the landlord’s master set
Insulation-resistance and earth-continuity results for new circuits, and the self-certification or Electrical Inspector’s approval where it applies
The sprinkler pressure test, and fire-alarm device and cause-and-effect tests witnessed by the landlord’s fire contractor, with the updated device list and zone chart
Air-balancing results, equipment data, warranties and maintenance schedules for tenant-owned assets
Any authority approval or intimation the change required

As-builts are hard to recreate once ceilings close — see why as-builts and O&M manuals go missing. At lease exit, the lease sets the reinstatement standard (bare shell, warm shell or the condition at handover). Write the engineering list behind it at entry, while both parties know what was there: sprinkler and detector layouts restored to suit the open floor; redundant circuits terminated back to the tap-off and abandoned cables removed from risers; fire-stopping reinstated at every penetration; supplementary units removed with refrigerant and condensate connections capped; and final meter readings recorded jointly. Whether the deposit is tied to these items is for the lease; the engineering point is that each one can be checked on site, which a “good condition” clause cannot.

Turning the boundary into a priced scope

Once the capacity schedule and decision table are agreed, the tenant’s MEP scope is a list of quantities, not an argument. The commercial MEP renovation budget calculator gives a first range for it; if work must happen around occupied floors, see phased MEP renovation in an occupied building. Secured Engineers can deliver the tenant’s MEP scope as one package under its turnkey EPC service. For a scope review, send the existing layout, the landlord’s provisions and capacity schedule, and the renovation scope through the quote request. Other renovation-stage planning guides are collected in Insights.

Sources and how to verify

CEA (Measures relating to Safety and Electric Supply) Regulations, 2023 — Central Electricity Authority, notified 8 June 2023; regulations 31, 32, 38 and 45. The amendment notified on 27 March 2026 adds battery-storage provisions from 1 April 2027 and does not change these regulations.
National Building Code of India 2016 (SP 7:2016) — Bureau of Indian Standards; Parts 4, 8 and 12, summarised in BIS’s guide to using NBC 2016.
PSPCL new connection and load extension FAQ — Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd; one DISCOM’s rules on separate connections in shared premises.

Confirm locally: your state’s notified voltage for electrical self-certification, whether your fire authority treats the fit-out as an amendment to the building’s fire approval, and your DISCOM’s rules on tenant connections and sub-metering.

Frequently asked

What should a tenant get from the landlord before planning an office fit-out?

A capacity schedule for the tenancy: allocated power (in kW or kVA) and its supply point, DG and UPS allocation, allocated cooling in TR with the provision type, fresh air and exhaust, sprinkler and fire-alarm provisions with spare loop capacity, riser space, water and drainage stubs, permissible floor loads, and the status of the building’s occupancy certificate and fire approval. Add the base-build as-built drawings and the landlord’s fit-out rules. If the landlord has no schedule, measure what is on site and have it confirmed in writing before the design is priced.

Which existing-building conditions can change an office fit-out’s MEP scope or budget?

Cooling or power allocations smaller than the layout needs, which force supplementary units or a load extension; a sprinkler or detection layout that must be redesigned for new partitions; full or unallocated risers; wet areas placed away from the drainage stubs; floor loads that rule out a planned server or UPS room; no kitchen exhaust provision for a cafeteria; and work that has to be phased around occupied floors. Each is cheaper to find in the capacity schedule than on site.

What should I send an engineer to review an office fit-out MEP scope?

The existing floor layout and base-build as-built drawings, the landlord’s capacity schedule or fit-out manual, the proposed layout with room uses and headcount, any special loads (server room, labs, kitchen, 24×7 areas), the lease’s reinstatement standard, and the target dates. With these an engineer can separate base-build provisions from tenant scope and price the tenant’s MEP as quantities.

What is the difference between bare shell, warm shell and plug-and-play?

The terms are used loosely and leases define them differently. Broadly, bare shell is structure and incoming services only, so the tenant builds almost everything; warm shell adds base-build HVAC, fire protection and basic services to the floor; plug-and-play is fully fitted. Read the lease’s own definition: the boundary sits at a different line in each, but it still has to be written down.

Can a tenant use its own contractor for work on base-build fire and electrical systems?

Electrical work must be done by a contractor licensed by the State Government under regulation 31 of the CEA 2023 safety regulations, whoever appoints them. For sprinkler and fire-alarm work that touches the building’s systems, a landlord may nominate or pre-approve agencies and require the drawings to be added to the master fire set, because the building’s fire approval covers the whole floor. The lease or fit-out manual should say which applies.

Related services

Guides that reference this page

Related on this site

More on Project Delivery & Commercial · all insights