Fixturing Period

A fixturing period is free time at the front of your lease to get the space ready: build out, install equipment, and set up before paying rent. For a practice with a multi-month build-out, this is a meaningful benefit, because paying full rent on a space you cannot yet use is pure loss.

How long it runs and when the clock starts are both negotiable. The stronger the deal, the more the fixturing period actually covers your construction time rather than ending while you are still building.

For healthcare tenants, build-out takes months, and paying rent during that time is money for nothing. A fixturing period shifts that cost. Negotiate enough rent-free time to realistically cover your construction, and watch how the start date is defined so the clock does not run out while you are still building.

A dentist negotiates a four-month fixturing period to cover the build-out. Rent starts only after that window or at opening, whichever comes first. That saved roughly four months of rent on a space that was generating no revenue during construction.