Is it okay to change the light switch in an office I leased in a commercial building without telling the owner?
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[{"id": "h9gg4se", "text": "Why would he say no? As a LL all I would want is a cert of insurance from the contractor listing me as additionally insured.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h9gky6b", "text": "If you pay rent on time. He could care less.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h9gnede", "text": "If the light switch stops working, whose responsibility is it to fix it?\n\nDo you need an electrician? Is it not something you could do yourself with a screw driver?", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h9gq95g", "text": "Might double check with a licensed electrician to see if it\u2019s required by code to have a motion sensor light switch in your area. Recent code changes might require motion sensor light switches, Los Angeles certainly does.  If it bugs you, I don\u2019t think it will be an issue to change it out but just keep mind you\u2019ll likely have to put it back when your lease ends.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h9gtsy2", "text": "As a GC that does commercial buildouts I\u2019ve had times where we\u2019ve swapped out the switches after inspections at client\u2019s request.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h9h1d7u", "text": "You could read the lease and find out. Most likely though yeah.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h9i9591", "text": "Tell the Property Manager the switch is not sensitive enough for your working habits and you need the light to stay on. They should at least be able to try adjusting the sensor to pick up movement better. Part of lease requires them to provide you with light. Or get some kind of fan or animated toy to trip the sensor, wave your hands around when the light goes off\u2026\nDon\u2019t piss off the manager and risk getting fines/kicked out/hiring an electrician who starts a fire over something that can be resolved a different way. \nSource- Commercial Property Manager who has experienced all of the above", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h9izyzi", "text": "Had the same problem which was driving me crazy enough to take action. I found the switch model by noting the brand in really small print and then guessing based on appearance after searching for images. There was an installer manual which showed how to bypass or lengthen the motion by pressing a combination on the switch. No electrician or even screw driver needed :-)", "replies": [{"id": "h9jc659", "text": "Honestly the best advice on here.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h9jqb0n", "text": "You can also look at what type of motion sensor it is.  High odds are you can change the setting itself to different timers on the motion sensor.  It may not be set appropriately.  As an example, maybe it's turning off 5 minutes without detection and you can change a setting so it turns the lights off after 30 minutes of nothing detected anymore.\n\nNow you face no legal issues.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h9qnbnb", "text": "This presumes few people are around (thus no one to move around and keep lights on).\n\nTry a Mylar helium balloon with a weighted string, the height of the switch.  Even minor air movement will move the balloon. (Dollar store sells such balloons)", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h9snadl", "text": "Read the alterations section of your lease", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]