What happens to leasehold improvements I paid for if I assign the lease to a buyer?

Leasehold improvements — fixtures and alterations attached to the leased premises — generally belong to the landlord as part of the real property once installed, regardless of who paid for them, unless your lease specifically says otherwise. Assigning the lease doesn't change that; the buyer simply steps into occupying premises that already include those improvements, and you don't typically "transfer" them separately the way you would movable equipment or inventory.

Where the real value lies is in how the sale price accounts for them. Because you can't sell the landlord's fixtures back to your buyer as your own property, the value of leasehold improvements you funded is usually captured commercially — reflected in the overall purchase price for the business — rather than legally, through some separate transfer document. Some leases do allow a tenant to remove certain improvements at the end of a term, which is a different and separate question from what happens on assignment mid-term.

Because ownership of improvements can affect how you value and structure the deal, check your lease's fixtures and alterations clause early. A Treadstone business lawyer can confirm what your lease actually says before you negotiate price with a buyer.