If your business sits in a shared office, a converted mill, a serviced building or anything else with more than one tenant, your install date is not really decided by the carrier. It is decided by the building. We have seen straightforward orders sail through in a fortnight and near-identical ones sit for three months, and the difference almost never comes down to the technology.
This is the part of an installation nobody quotes for and most providers will not mention until an engineer is standing in your reception unable to get any further. So here is what actually happens, and what you can do about it before you sign anything.
Why a shared building is a different job entirely
In your own premises, the route is yours. A carrier brings a cable to the boundary, you agree where it enters, and the work happens. In a multi-tenant building you control almost none of that. The pavement outside, the entry point, the vertical route up through the building, the comms room and often the final run into your suite all belong to somebody else.
That means every install involves at least three parties who do not work for each other: you, the carrier, and whoever controls the building. Getting them to agree is the job. The cable pulling is the easy bit.
The wayleave, and why it eats the timeline
A wayleave is the legal agreement that lets a carrier install and keep equipment in a building it does not own. Without a signed one, no engineer is going anywhere near your riser, no matter what your order confirmation says.
Some landlords deal with these constantly and have a standard document that comes back in days. Others have never seen one, send it to their solicitor, and it disappears for six weeks. A managing agent may need the freeholder's approval, and the freeholder may be an investment fund in another country. None of this is unusual, and none of it is visible from your desk when you place the order.
The single most useful thing you can do is find out who signs the wayleave before you order, not after. That one question routinely saves a month.
The riser, the comms room and who holds the key
Assuming consent is in place, the physical work still depends on access. In practice that means:
- The riser. The vertical shaft carrying cable between floors. It may be locked, shared with other tenants, already congested, or accessible only with the agent present.
- The comms room. Usually where the carrier terminates. There needs to be somewhere to mount equipment, power available, and permission to use both.
- Escorted access. Many buildings will not let a contractor in unaccompanied, which means booking around the agent's availability rather than the engineer's.
- Paperwork. Expect requests for the installer's insurance and a risk assessment and method statement before anyone is allowed on site.
- Out-of-hours restrictions. Some buildings only permit disruptive work in the evening or at weekends, which affects both scheduling and cost.
None of these are obstacles exactly. They are just things that take time if you discover them on the day, and take no time at all if you sorted them a fortnight earlier.
First, check whether the building is already connected
This is the question worth asking before any of the above. Plenty of multi-tenant buildings already have carrier fibre terminating in the comms room, because a previous tenant ordered it or the landlord had it installed. If yours is one of them, the job changes completely: instead of civils, consent and a new entry point, it can be a cross-connect and a run up the riser.
The difference is not marginal. A build that would have taken two or three months can sometimes be done in days. It is the first thing we check on any shared-building enquiry, and it is remarkable how often nobody has asked.
Lead times: when the clock actually starts
Quoted lead times generally describe the carrier's build once everything is agreed. They do not usually include the survey, the wayleave, or any construction work needed to reach the building. So the honest answer to "how long will this take" in a shared building is: the carrier's lead time, plus however long consent takes, plus whatever the survey turns up.
Two things commonly extend it further. If the survey finds no usable duct into the building, you may face excess construction charges and the civils work that goes with them. And if the building has restrictions on when work can happen, the schedule bends around those rather than around you. We wrote more about the underlying build process in how long a leased line really takes to install.
Questions to ask before you order
Run these past your landlord or managing agent. It takes one email and it is the difference between a predictable install and an open-ended one.
- Is there already carrier fibre into the building, and which carriers?
- Who signs a wayleave, and have you signed one before?
- Is there space and power in the comms room for our equipment?
- Is the riser accessible, and is there capacity in it?
- What notice do you need for contractor access, and are there restricted hours?
- Do you require insurance documents or a method statement in advance?
If you are taking a new lease, ask these before you sign it. Connectivity is far easier to negotiate as part of a deal than as a favour afterwards.
If you are fitting out or moving in
Work backwards from the date you need to be live, and start the connectivity conversation at the same time as the lease, not at the same time as the furniture. A line ordered when the desks arrive will not be ready when the staff do. Our moving premises checklist covers the wider sequence.
Meanwhile, a 4G or 5G router will keep a team working from day one while a fixed circuit is built. It is not a permanent answer, but it means an opening date does not depend on a wayleave.
Multi-tenant installs, answered
What is a wayleave and who signs it?
A wayleave is the legal agreement allowing a carrier to install and keep equipment in a building it does not own. It is signed by whoever controls the building, which may be the landlord, a managing agent acting for them, or the freeholder. Finding out who that is before you order is the single most useful thing you can do.
How long does an install into a shared building take?
Longer than the carrier lead time alone, because that figure usually describes the build once everything is agreed. Add however long consent takes and whatever the survey finds. If the building already has carrier fibre in the comms room, it can instead be a matter of days.
Can a landlord refuse to let a carrier install?
In practice a landlord can decline to sign a wayleave or attach conditions to it, which is why it is worth raising connectivity while you are negotiating a lease rather than afterwards. Most are perfectly willing once they understand what is involved, but the conversation takes time you should build into your plan.
What are excess construction charges?
If the survey finds no usable route into the building, the carrier may quote additional charges for the civils work needed to create one, such as new duct or a road crossing. These are quoted after survey rather than at order, which is why a firm date and a firm price both come later than people expect.
How do I find out whether my building is already connected?
Ask the managing agent which carriers already terminate in the comms room, and ask us to check the building against carrier records. Plenty of multi-tenant buildings were connected for a previous tenant, and nobody thinks to mention it. It is the first thing worth establishing because it changes the job completely.
What we actually do about it
We handle the building side rather than handing you a reference number and waiting. That means identifying who controls consent, chasing the wayleave, dealing with the managing agent, supplying insurance and method statements, booking escorted access, and being on site when the engineer is. If the building turns out to be already connected, we will tell you and quote the cheaper job.
It is unglamorous work and it is the reason installs land on time. Most resellers will not do it, because it is phone calls and paperwork rather than product. If you are looking at a leased line or business broadband in a shared building, talk to us before you order and we will tell you honestly what you are likely to be dealing with.