Demising Wall

When a landlord splits a larger floor into separate suites, the demising wall is what divides your space from the next tenant or from the hallway. It is more than a partition: it usually has to meet fire-rating and sound requirements, and for a medical or dental office, sound privacy between your space and the neighbor matters for patient confidentiality.

Who builds and pays for the demising wall is negotiable. Sometimes the landlord delivers it as part of the base building, and sometimes it falls into your build-out scope, which affects your cost.

A demising wall is an easy item to overlook until you learn it is in your build-out budget, not the landlord's. For healthcare tenants, its sound rating also affects patient privacy. Confirm in the lease who builds it, to what fire and sound standard, and on whose dollar.

A practice leases half of a former open floor. The lease is clear that the landlord builds the demising wall to a one-hour fire rating with sound insulation, while the tenant handles everything on their side. Spelling that out avoided a dispute over a 15,000 dollar wall.