Office relocation Gantt chart template with lease and move weekend
An editable office relocation Gantt chart: lease, design and fit-out, furniture and network lead times, notice at the old premises, IT cutover, move weekend and snagging, with dependencies and milestones.
What the office relocation gantt chart template with lease and move weekend process is
An office move looks like one event, but the date is set by a few slow items that start early: a lease, furniture that is made to order, a network circuit that has to be installed, and a notice period on the old premises. Everything else, such as the space plan, the movers and the staff messages, fits around them. When the slow items start late, the move weekend moves with them. A timeline makes those chains visible before you promise staff a date.
This template has four groups: Site and lease, Design and fit-out, IT and cabling, and Move and handover. "Shortlist and tour sites" (6 working days) is the only starting task, and "Negotiate lease terms" (8) follows it. "Lease signed" is a milestone and the first gate. Nothing that commits money waits for less: "Order furniture and fittings", "Carry out fit-out works", "Order circuits and network equipment" and "Notice period at old premises" all follow it.
Design is the one thing that starts before the lease is final. "Develop space plan and design" (8) is linked start-to-start with a lag of 4 days to the negotiation, so a plan exists once the preferred site is clear. The long lead items then run side by side. "Furniture manufacture and delivery" (20) waits for the order, and "Carry out fit-out works" (15) waits for the lease and the design. "Fit-out complete" waits for both. In the IT group, "Wait for circuit and equipment delivery" (15) is waiting time, and "Install cabling and network equipment" (6) starts 8 days into the fit-out works, after the circuits arrive, so cabling happens in the same weeks as the building work.
The handover group is built around the weekend. "Cut over IT services" (2) follows "Test network and prepare IT cutover" (4), and "Move weekend" (2) waits for "Fit-out complete", "Announce the move to staff" and the cutover. "Snagging and fixes after move" (5) and "Stabilization support" (10) both start after it, and "Hand back old premises" (2) waits for the move and for the 30-day "Notice period at old premises". "Relocation complete" closes the plan once snagging, support and handback are done. The notice period only counts calendar time, so compare the finish date with the date your old lease ends. All durations are illustrative.
A timeline schedules the work. It does not make a lease valid, a building safe to occupy or a network secure. For the same method on other projects, see /templates/renovation-gantt, /templates/equipment-installation-gantt and /templates/project-gantt-chart, and for the people side of the move see /templates/change-management-process.
What this flowchart covers
In this template
- Four groups, Site and lease, Design and fit-out, IT and cabling and Move and handover, with 21 tasks and three milestones: "Lease signed", "Fit-out complete" and "Relocation complete".
- A lease gate: "Order furniture and fittings", "Carry out fit-out works", "Order circuits and network equipment" and "Notice period at old premises" all follow "Lease signed".
- Two long lead items: "Furniture manufacture and delivery" (20 working days) and "Wait for circuit and equipment delivery" (15), with "Install cabling and network equipment" starting 8 days into "Carry out fit-out works".
- A move weekend that waits for "Fit-out complete", "Announce the move to staff" and "Cut over IT services".
- Work after the move: "Snagging and fixes after move", "Stabilization support" and "Hand back old premises", the last of which also waits for the 30-day "Notice period at old premises".
When to use this template
- You are moving an office and need to agree dates with facilities, IT, the landlord, the movers and the people who will move.
- You want to see whether furniture, cabling or the notice period decides the move date.
- Leadership wants a move date and you want to compare the finish date with the date you need and with the date your old lease ends.
- You want a reusable skeleton for a team or site move that you can resize.
The plan, task by task
Every task in the chart with its length in working days and what it waits for. A dependency is a step number; SS is start-to-start, FF is finish-to-finish, and +n is a lag in working days.
| # | Task | Group | Working days | Depends on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shortlist and tour sites | Site and lease | 6 | |
| 2 | Negotiate lease terms | Site and lease | 8 | 1 |
| 3 | Lease signed | Site and lease | Milestone | 2 |
| 4 | Develop space plan and design | Design and fit-out | 8 | 2SS+4 |
| 5 | Order furniture and fittings | Design and fit-out | 2 | 3, 4 |
| 6 | Furniture manufacture and delivery | Design and fit-out | 20 | 5 |
| 7 | Carry out fit-out works | Design and fit-out | 15 | 3, 4 |
| 8 | Fit-out complete | Design and fit-out | Milestone | 6, 7 |
| 9 | Order circuits and network equipment | IT and cabling | 2 | 3 |
| 10 | Wait for circuit and equipment delivery | IT and cabling | 15 | 9 |
| 11 | Install cabling and network equipment | IT and cabling | 6 | 7SS+8, 10 |
| 12 | Test network and prepare IT cutover | IT and cabling | 4 | 11 |
| 13 | Notice period at old premises | Move and handover | 30 | 3 |
| 14 | Plan the move and book movers | Move and handover | 5 | 3 |
| 15 | Announce the move to staff | Move and handover | 5 | 14 |
| 16 | Cut over IT services | Move and handover | 2 | 12 |
| 17 | Move weekend | Move and handover | 2 | 8, 15, 16 |
| 18 | Snagging and fixes after move | Move and handover | 5 | 17 |
| 19 | Stabilization support | Move and handover | 10 | 17 |
| 20 | Hand back old premises | Move and handover | 2 | 13, 17 |
| 21 | Relocation complete | Move and handover | Milestone | 18, 19, 20 |
How it works
Set the lease gate
Keep "Lease signed" as the milestone that everything committing money follows. If your landlord lets you start work earlier, move that dependency and note the risk.
Start the design early
"Develop space plan and design" is linked start-to-start with a lag of 4 days to "Negotiate lease terms". Change the lag to match how soon you know the preferred site.
Replace the lead times
Set "Furniture manufacture and delivery" and "Wait for circuit and equipment delivery" from supplier quotes. These two usually decide whether the move date holds.
Check the notice period
Set "Notice period at old premises" from your lease terms. Read the finish date of "Hand back old premises" against the date your old lease ends.
Protect the cutover
Keep "Cut over IT services" ahead of "Move weekend" and add your own tasks, such as phone numbers or printers. Add rehearsal tasks if your move is large.
Add owners, share and export
Put the responsible person in People, share the chart with facilities, IT and the movers, and export a PDF or CSV when you need a copy.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an office relocation take?
It depends on the size of the office, the lease and how long furniture and network orders take. The template uses illustrative working days. Replace them with quotes and read the finish date from the chart.
Why does fit-out wait for the lease?
Because spending on a space you may not get is a risk most teams avoid. The chart shows the gate so you can see what a delayed signature pushes back, and move the dependency if your terms allow early access.
Does the chart manage the move budget or the movers' contract?
No. It schedules the work and who it waits for. Quotes, costs and contracts stay in your own records. For overlapping work, see /guides/gantt-chart-overlapping-tasks.
What is the notice period task for?
It shows the time your old lease needs before you can hand the premises back. It does not delay the move itself. It only holds "Hand back old premises".
Can I use it for a single department or a warehouse move?
Yes. Remove the groups you do not need and resize the rest. For a build-heavy move, see /templates/construction-gantt-chart, and for dependencies in general see /guides/gantt-chart-dependencies.