The Importance of Tenant Liaison During an Occupied Fit Out
22nd May 2026
Written by Amy Laycock, Construction Manager, BW: Workplace Experts
Carrying out a fit out in an occupied building brings a layer of responsibility that’s easy to underestimate: people are trying to work while the project carries on around them. Construction is disruptive by nature, noise, dust, busy loading bays, and changing access routes come with the territory. But disruption doesn’t automatically lead to frustration. The real difference is communication.
A well-run tenant liaison programme won’t remove disruption, but it can completely change how people experience it. When people feel informed and looked after, they’re far more understanding when things get inconvenient. It’s often the small frustrations that snowball into bigger complaints when communication is missing.
Find out how they want to communicate
Before deciding how to communicate, take the time to understand what the client actually wants people to know and who needs to hear it. On a recent project, we naturally defaulted to construction terminology when communicating with them. The client fed back and asked us to re-record it in plain language. It was a good reminder that most people in the building aren’t project managers. They’re receptionists, finance teams, marketers, people who simply want to know what’s happening and when things will be back to normal. Let that shape everything and help you choose the right format. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to communicating with building occupants. The best format is the one people will actually engage with.
Whatever format is chosen, the guiding principle should stay the same: keep it clear, visual, and engaging. Most building occupants are not reading technical drawings or construction jargon, they want to understand what their future space will actually look like. Strong visuals create excitement and buy-in. Walls of text create distance.
Keep people informed, heard, and prepared.
Every liaison programme should give occupants a clear point of contact, not necessarily someone from the construction team. In some projects, the building manager is the more natural fit. What matters is that people know exactly who to speak to and that there’s an easy way for them to raise questions or concerns, whether that’s by email, a form, or something simpler. It sends a clear message that their experience matters.
Progress updates only tell part of the story. People also need visibility on what’s coming next. Give advance notice of noisy works, busy delivery periods, or out-of-hours activity before it happens, not after will show consideration and help occupants plan around disruption instead of feeling blindsided by it.
The whole point
Effective tenant liaison comes down to making people feel considered. A live fit out is disruptive by nature, but the projects that build goodwill are the ones that recognise that reality and communicate openly throughout. Keep occupants informed, explain what’s changing and why, and speak in a way that feels human. Do that well, and even the most disrupted building will work with you rather than against you by the time the project wraps up.
