top of page

Electrical Due Diligence When Buying or Leasing a Commercial Building in Auckland

Sep 18
3 min read

The electrical infrastructure of a commercial building is one of the largest unknown liabilities in a purchase or a lease, and it's the one a standard building report covers least. A main switchboard at end of life, no spare capacity for the tenant you're planning to attract, missing compliance records, or emergency lighting that hasn't been tested in years are all expensive discoveries — and all of them are findable before you commit, not after.

Under contract with a due diligence clause running? Call 021 889 770 — we work to DD timeframes and give you a written report you can negotiate with.

What an electrical due diligence inspection covers

  • Main switchboard condition and age — protective devices, terminations, thermal condition, and whether replacement parts are still available for what's installed

  • Spare capacity — the question that decides whether your intended use, or your intended tenant's, is even possible without a supply upgrade and its lines-company lead time

  • Metering arrangement — how tenancies are metered, whether sub-metering exists, and whether power is recoverable from tenants or buried in outgoings

  • Compliance schedule and building warrant of fitness status, with specific attention to emergency and exit lighting — the specified system most often found lapsed

  • Certificates of Compliance for past work — their absence tells you work was done without certification, which becomes your problem on settlement

  • Previous tenant fitouts left in place — what's safe, what's certified, and what has to be removed or made good

  • Common-area and external electrical — carpark and yard lighting, security, and anything exposed to weather

The transfer problem: records don't follow the building

The most common electrical issue we see at commercial property transfer isn't a fault — it's missing paperwork. Compliance records, test results and certificates sit with the outgoing owner's contractor, or with a property manager who has since changed, and they simply don't arrive with the title. The new owner then inherits a building warrant of fitness obligation with no evidence base underneath it, and has to start the record trail from zero. Asking for the electrical compliance file during due diligence, rather than after settlement, is free and routinely forgotten.

For tenants, not just buyers

If you're taking a lease rather than buying, the same inspection answers different questions: does the tenancy carry your equipment load, what condition is the fitout you're inheriting, and what exactly will you be required to remove at the end of the term. That last one — the make-good obligation — is the cost tenants most consistently fail to budget for. Our guide on who pays for what in a commercial fitout covers the split in detail.

Frequently asked questions

How fast can you turn around a due diligence inspection?

We work to DD timeframes — tell us your deadline when you call. For most buildings the site visit is a half day and the written report follows shortly after.

Is this the same as a building inspection?

No. A building inspector assesses structure and weathertightness and will note the switchboard visually at most. Electrical due diligence is done by a registered electrician who opens the board, checks capacity and reviews the compliance records.

What do I get at the end?

A written report covering condition, capacity, compliance status and the likely cost of anything needing attention — written so you can hand it to your lawyer or use it as a negotiating document.

Know what you're buying into

Registered electricians on current EWRB practising licences · Written reports for lawyers, lenders and negotiation · Based in Remuera, working Auckland-wide

bottom of page