Buying a Warehouse or Industrial Unit

Warehouses and industrial units are bought for very different reasons, from owner-occupiers wanting space for storage, manufacturing or a trade business, through to investors targeting a stable tenant on a long lease. Whichever category you fall into, the due diligence for industrial property looks quite different from a retail or office commercial purchase, with a heavier focus on physical access, permitted use and, in some cases, previous industrial activity on the site.

Confirming the Permitted Use

Industrial zones typically permit a broad range of uses, but not every activity is automatically allowed within every industrial zone, and some council areas distinguish between light and general industry in ways that matter for specific business types. Before committing, confirm what your intended use requires under the relevant planning scheme, particularly if you plan to run a business involving hazardous materials, food processing, vehicle repair or any activity with noise, odour or traffic implications beyond typical warehousing. A permit obtained by a previous occupier for their specific use does not necessarily extend to a different use by a new owner or tenant.

Access, Loading and Vehicle Movements

Practical access considerations often matter more for industrial property than for other commercial types. Check the height and width of loading doors against the vehicles you intend to use, the adequacy of hardstand and turning area for trucks, and whether heavy vehicle access is actually permitted on the surrounding road network at the hours you need it. Shared driveways or easements providing access across a neighbouring lot are common in industrial estates and need to be checked on title, since an access easement that looks straightforward on a plan can carry conditions limiting vehicle size or hours of use.

Clearance heights matter too, particularly for tenants using racking systems, forklifts with masts, or larger vehicles requiring a specific eave height. A warehouse advertised by floor area alone can be unsuitable for your intended use if the clear internal height, column spacing or floor loading capacity does not match your equipment or storage racking plans, so confirm these physical specifications against your actual operational needs rather than relying on a general description in the marketing material.

Environmental History and Site Contamination

Industrial land has a materially higher likelihood of historical contamination than most other commercial property types, particularly where the site or a neighbouring property has previously hosted manufacturing, chemical storage, vehicle servicing or waste handling activities. A search of the relevant state's contaminated land register, where one is publicly available, is a sensible starting point, alongside a preliminary environmental site assessment for any industrial purchase with an uncertain or undocumented history, even where the current use appears benign, since contamination liability can attach to the land itself. This is a similar due diligence exercise to that required for a former service station with contaminated land considerations, adapted to whatever specific industrial history applies to the site in question.

Essential Services and Power Capacity

Manufacturing, cold storage and many trade businesses require significant power capacity, three-phase supply, or specific water and drainage infrastructure that a standard warehouse shell may not have. Confirm the current electrical capacity, whether any upgrade would be required for your intended use, and who bears the cost of connecting additional services if the site does not already have them. This is easy to overlook during a walkthrough focused on floor area and roller doors, but it can be a significant practical and financial factor in whether a site actually suits your operation.

Lease Terms for Investment Purchases

Where you are buying an industrial property as an investment with a tenant in place, review the lease for outgoings recovery, make-good obligations at lease end, and any options the tenant holds to renew. Industrial leases commonly place responsibility for structural repairs on the landlord and day-to-day maintenance on the tenant, but the specific allocation varies and needs to be checked rather than assumed. If the lease is being assigned as part of the sale, understand the process involved in a commercial lease assignment when a property sells and how it interacts with your settlement timeline.

Strata and Business Park Considerations

Many industrial units are held under strata or community title within a larger business park, which introduces body corporate levies, shared driveway maintenance obligations, and by-laws that can restrict signage, outdoor storage or operating hours. Review the by-laws carefully if your business involves any outdoor activity, since restrictions written for a mixed group of tenants can be more limiting than a standalone industrial site with no shared ownership structure. Confirm the levy history and whether any special levies are planned for shared infrastructure repairs before you commit.

Covenants Affecting Industrial Land

Older industrial estates sometimes carry restrictive covenants from the original subdivision limiting the type of business permitted to operate, height restrictions, or requirements around fencing and landscaping. These covenants can be easy to miss in a standard title search summary and need to be read in full, since a covenant restricting certain trade categories could directly conflict with your intended use. Understanding the difference between positive covenants and restrictive covenants helps clarify what you are actually agreeing to take on with the title.

Insurance and Building Compliance

Industrial buildings, particularly older ones, can have compliance gaps around fire separation, sprinkler systems and essential safety measure certification that only become apparent once you seek insurance or a compliance certificate for your intended use. Ask for the current fire safety statement or equivalent compliance certificate and confirm what activities the building has been certified for, since a change from general storage to a use involving flammable materials or increased occupant numbers may require upgraded fire systems before you can obtain adequate insurance cover.