What Does 'Making Good' Mean in a Singapore Lease?
Short answer: Making good means repairing any damage a tenant caused during their tenancy, separate from the broader reinstatement obligation to remove fit-out and return the unit to its original condition.
Making good vs full reinstatement
The two terms often appear together in the same lease clause but mean slightly different things. Reinstatement is the broader obligation, removing what you added and returning the space toward its original or bare-shell condition. Making good is narrower: repairing damage, holes, marks, broken fixtures, that occurred during your occupation, separate from whatever fit-out you're removing anyway.
SingaporeLegalAdvice.com's summary of the reinstatement obligation lists "repairing any damage the tenant has done to the premises" as part of the same clause that covers furniture removal and repainting, which is why in practice most Singapore leases treat making good as a component of reinstatement rather than a separate standalone task.
Why the distinction still matters
It matters most at inspection time. A landlord's inspector will typically flag two different things: reinstatement items not completed (a partition still standing, ceiling grid still up) and making-good items (a cracked tile, a hole from a removed fixture, scuffed paint from moved furniture). Fixing the second category is often quicker and cheaper, but skipping it is just as likely to hold up your handover sign-off as leaving a partition in place.
A thorough pre-inspection walkthrough, ideally with photos, before the official handover catches both categories at once. See our reinstatement works checklist for the fuller pre-handover process.
Related guides
- The Reinstatement Clause: What Tenants Are Liable For
- Dilapidation and Handover: How the Process Works
Sources
Checked July 2026.