Foodservice Lease: 9 Clauses

The worst moment to discover that a premises is not suitable for foodservice is the third month of paying rent. A five-year lease signed, the deposit paid, the crew inside. And it turns out there is no way to take the fumes above the roof.

Below are nine places in a lease of a premises for foodservice where it is decided whether you will reach the inspection. The point is not to win against the landlord, but to make sure that risk outside your control does not fall entirely on you.

The key points in brief

• The purpose of the lease must be written in expressly. "Commercial premises" is not enough. Without it, you start a dispute about ventilation, noise or connections from a worse position.
• The split of adaptation costs is the main field of play. Ventilation, a grease trap and connection capacity can cost more than the first year of rent.
• A clause on exiting the lease if you do not obtain the consents and approval of the premises is the most important here. Almost nobody proposes it.
• Settle the improvements on paper before you incur them, and collect consents in writing. A verbal "no problem" does not pass with an official or in court.

Nine clauses that decide whether you pass the inspection

1. The purpose of the lease written in expressly as foodservice activity

The Civil Code requires the leased thing to be used in the manner specified in the lease, and where the lease is silent, in a manner corresponding to its purpose (Art. 666 § 1 of the Civil Code). It sounds innocent until you drill a hole for an air intake.

The lease should state that the premises is let for a foodservice establishment described specifically: with heat treatment, frying, takeaway service, a garden. Add a statement by the owner that they know of no obstacles to such activity.

2. Who brings the premises up to sanitary requirements

The landlord says "the premises used to be a restaurant", you hear "ready". What a predecessor leaves is usually walls and a few connections, not compliance with the rules.

Separate the technical condition of the building, for which the owner is responsible, from the equipment, for which you are responsible. Establish who pays for staff facilities, hand-wash basins and the separation of zones. Before negotiations, go through the sanitary requirements for a foodservice premises and mark the points that this premises does not meet.

3. Ventilation and removal of fumes

The most expensive surprise in foodservice and the one over which you have the least influence. The hood with a filter is your cost. The problem starts higher up: the riser, the passage through the ceiling, the exit above the roof, interference with the facade.

Ask directly: does the duct exist, who pays for building it, and does the owner undertake to obtain the consent of the owners' association. "It should be possible" is also an answer. Then you need the clause from point seven all the more.

4. Consent to a change of use and to adaptation works

If the premises was not previously foodservice, a change of use of a building requires a notification to the architectural and building administration authority, before the change is made (Art. 71 of the Construction Law). The provision expressly names a change in hygiene and sanitary and fire conditions, and foodservice changes both.

The notification is made by an entity with a legal title to the premises, so you need the owner's consent in a form the office will accept, and within a specific time. Describe the scope of the adaptation works separately.

5. Connections: water, sewage, grease trap, gas, power

Write into the lease the actual state, not declarations: the diameter of the water connection, the source of hot water, the cross-section of the sewage line, the grease separator, gas and connection capacity.

Capacity is sometimes a silent project killer. An electric kitchen, a hood-type dishwasher, refrigeration and ventilation can exceed what the premises has, and increasing it is a cost and a time outside your control. Establish who pays and what happens when it is impossible.

The grease trap requirement usually follows from the connection conditions and the rules of the local water and sewage company, so check them with the municipality. Establish who pays for installation and who for emptying.

6. Opening hours and noise

In a residential building this topic closes venues faster than Sanepid (the State Sanitary Inspection). The lease should specify working hours and delivery hours, waste collection, and whether the garden may operate after 10 pm.

Ask about the history of the premises. You will take over the previous tenant's conflict with residents along with the keys. Ask for a statement on whether there were complaints about noise or smells. More in the article on taking over a foodservice premises from a previous tenant.

7. Exiting the lease if the premises is not approved

This is the clause nobody asks for, and it saves the most money.

You file the application for approval of the establishment and entry in the register of establishments with the poviat sanitary inspector at least 14 days before the planned start of operations (Art. 64 of the Act on Food and Nutrition Safety). The inspector looks at the premises when it is basically ready. That is, after the refurbishment. That is, after you have spent the money and are bound by the lease. If the premises cannot be brought up to the requirements, the lease still applies.

Why it is not enough to rely on the rules. The Civil Code allows a lease to be terminated without observing notice periods where the thing had, when handed over, defects that make the use provided for in the lease impossible (Art. 664 § 2 of the Civil Code). It sounds like a solution. Except that the next paragraph takes this right away from a tenant who knew of the defects when concluding the lease (Art. 664 § 3). And you viewed and measured the premises. The landlord will argue that you knew. That is why the exit mechanism must be contractual.

What it rests on. The Civil Code allows the effects of a legal act to depend on a future and uncertain event, that is, on a condition (Art. 89 of the Civil Code). A decision of an authority is, from your perspective, such an event. The second way is a contractual right of withdrawal, with a hard requirement: it must be reserved within a specified period (Art. 395 § 1 of the Civil Code). A reservation without a cut-off date is a clause you will trip on. Which construction to choose and how to draft it is decided by a lawyer, not a template from the internet.

What to look for in a draft lease:

• Which event closes the matter: a decision approving the establishment, no objection to the notification of change of use, the owners' association's consent to ventilation. List them, do not write generally about "consents".
• By when. A specific date, not "within a reasonable time".
• Who files the applications and within what time. The clause must not allow you to sit idle and announce after six months that it did not work out. Your commitment gives the mechanism credibility.
• What about rent and charges until that moment, what about the deposit and when it returns.
• What about improvements already made and restoring the premises to its previous state.

A realistic version has two stages. The first stage is the consents obtainable before you spend money: the owner's, the owners' association's for ventilation, no objection to the notification of change of use. Here you leave without loss. The second stage is the approval of the establishment, which comes later. For it, what is usually negotiated is not a clean exit, but limiting the effects: a shortened notice period and a split of the cost of improvements. A landlord more easily accepts two smaller concessions than one large one. The sequence of formalities is laid out in the guide how to open a restaurant step by step.

8. Improvements and their settlement after the lease ends

If the tenant has improved the leased thing, the landlord, in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, may at their choice either keep the improvements against payment of a sum corresponding to their value at the time of return, or demand restoration of the previous state (Art. 676 of the Civil Code). "In the absence of an agreement to the contrary" means that it can be arranged otherwise. "At their choice" means that the choice belongs to the landlord.

So list in an annex what is yours and subject to dismantling, set the method of valuation at the end of the lease, and limit the obligation to restore the previous state. Dismantling ventilation sometimes costs as much as building it. Record the condition of the premises at handover in a protocol and photograph it.

9. Garden, shop window, sign and advertising

If a garden is in the business plan, it must be in the lease. Establish whether the owner holds a title to the land, whether the consent of the municipality or the road manager is needed, and who pays for occupying the road lane. Describe the sign and window advertising separately, because in some cities landscape resolutions apply.

A checklist for viewing the premises

Print the table and take it with you on the visit. Make notes in front of the owner, not after you get home.

Area	Question to the owner	What you are looking for
Purpose	What activity is entered for the premises?	A document, not a word
Change of use	Is a notification needed?	The owner's consent in writing
Ventilation	Will the fumes go above the roof?	A riser or consent to build one
Owners' association	Does it agree to equipment on the facade?	A resolution or written consent
Power	How many kilowatts of connection capacity does the premises have?	A figure from the contract with the operator
Water and sewage	Is there hot water and a grease separator?	The actual state, not a plan
Back-of-house	Is there room for a changing room and a washing zone?	Metres, not promises
Noise	Were there complaints, and until what time can the venue operate?	A statement in the lease
Garden	Who controls the land in front of the premises?	A legal title to the land
Exit from the lease	What if I do not obtain consents and approval?	A cut-off date and the exit procedure
Improvements	How do we settle them at the end of the lease?	A clause in the lease, not silence
Predecessor	Why did the previous tenant move out?	The reaction says the most

Frequently asked questions

Who pays for ventilation in a rented foodservice premises?

The lease decides. The hood and filters are most often the tenant's cost, and the building's installations, including the riser and the exit above the roof, are a matter for negotiation. Where the lease is silent, a dispute over tens of thousands of PLN starts when you no longer have leverage.

Can a lease be made dependent on Sanepid's consent?

The Civil Code allows the effects of a legal act to depend on a future and uncertain event, and a decision of an authority is such an event (Art. 89 of the Civil Code). A contractual right of withdrawal, reserved within a specified period, is also used (Art. 395 § 1). Leave the drafting of the clause to a lawyer.

What if the premises has defects that make foodservice impossible?

The Civil Code provides for termination of a lease without observing notice periods where the thing had, when handed over, defects that make the use provided for in the lease impossible (Art. 664 § 2 of the Civil Code). It is not available, however, to a tenant who knew of the defects when concluding the lease (Art. 664 § 3). That is why your own clause is safer.

When do I notify Sanepid of the premises after signing the lease?

The application for approval of the establishment and entry in the register is filed at least 14 days before the planned start of operations (Art. 64 of the Act on Food and Nutrition Safety). That is the statutory minimum, not a schedule. The deadlines are described in the article on when to notify Sanepid of a restaurant, and the scope of preparations in the full list of Sanepid requirements for foodservice.

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This is not legal advice. The article is informational and does not replace consultation with a lawyer. A draft lease should be assessed before signing by a licensed lawyer (radca prawny or adwokat).
Legal status as of: 18 August 2026
Legal basis: Civil Code of 23 April 1964 (Art. 89, Art. 395 § 1, Art. 664, Art. 666 § 1, Art. 676); Construction Law of 7 July 1994 (Art. 71); Act of 25 August 2006 on Food and Nutrition Safety (Art. 64).
Last review: 18 August 2026