When you need to look at commercial leases, you have a different set of things to think about than when you are renting residential space. There are specific considerations you need to make when you are looking to lease industrial warehouse space. Here are some things to keep in mind when you are looking at renting a warehouse.

1. Ask about the HVAC situation. Most of the time, industrial warehouse spaces do not come with heating and air conditioning. That may be fine for your business but if you know you will need those for your products, you should ask about it. Some do have it but, in many cases, business owners need to install it themselves if they want to have it. There are warehouses where the previous tenant already had a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) unit installed. If there is an HVAC unit already on site, you will have to work out something with your landlord to deal with maintenance. The chances are that you will need to take care of basic maintenance but the landlord should deal with major work that it needs, if it needs that.
2. Make sure you know what you will be responsible for. When you are looking at leasing a warehouse, you should make sure you understand what costs you will have to take care of and what your landlord will deal with. Your landlord should deal with roof repairs and replacement, if that is needed. Typically, the tenant has to take care of basic maintenance and insurance for the property. It is just a good idea to have the conversation and to get this in writing so that there is no confusion or problems later on.
3. Find out how the landlord measures square footage. When you are dealing with industrial warehouse space, you need to find out how the landlord measures the space. What you want is a landlord who measures only the usable space. Often, landlords measure the outside of the warehouse. They want to do this to increase the amount of rent they can charge. Before you sign a lease, make sure you understand how the measurements are being done. Keep in mind, usually the tenant is responsible for things such as garbage and recycling collection.
4. Look at the parking lot. These are not maintenance free zones. You need to check your lease for the industrial warehouse space and make sure the landlord is not going to try to stick you with the costs of maintaining the parking lot. That should fall under your landlord’s responsibilities. This is not something that you should pay for. If the parking lot is not properly maintained, it will have long term implications for the property so it is in the landlord’s best interests to keep it in good shape. Make sure the parking lot will be able to handle the trucks and loads that you will have coming and going from your business.
5. Check out how the property is zoned. If you need an industrial warehouse space, you need to make sure the property is zoned for that. Keep in mind, if the area has been zoned for industrial space and you want something else, you need to either work with the landlord to file for a zoning change or you need to find a different property.
6. Check out the power that is being supplied to the industrial warehouse space. When you are finding a warehouse to rent, you need to make sure the power it has will be enough for what you need. If you cannot get a full answer from the person who owns the property, you should have an qualified electrician come out and look at the building and evaluate the power that is supplied to it. The last thing you need is to blow out some transformers or discover that you cannot get enough power to the building after you have moved everything in.

Renting an industrial warehouse space is a bit more complicated than renting a residential property. You may want to think about your company’s future and see if you will be able to expand with the landlord. If you take your time, you will find the right space.