Clinic and dental shop fit-out: power, water, X-ray, parking, lease

A GP or dental clinic needs a ground-floor shop with enough electrical capacity for its equipment, water and drainage that can reach every treatment room, and parking that patients can reach in a few steps. A dental clinic adds three things: plumbing, air and suction lines to each chair, a ventilated corner for the compressor and suction unit, and an X-ray room that is licensed and shielded. Confirm all of this before you sign, because a clinic is hard to move once it is registered.

For where to open, see our clinic trade page. This article covers the building.

There is no single number. A GP clinic with consultation rooms, a small lab fridge and air conditioning often runs on the shop's existing supply. A dental clinic is heavier: each chair, the compressor, suction motor, sterilisers and the X-ray unit all draw power, often at the same time. What to do:

• Ask the landlord for the current supply (single phase or 3-phase) and the meter rating, and photograph the meter board.
• Give your equipment list to an electrical contractor registered with the Energy Commission and ask whether an upgrade is needed.
• If an upgrade is needed, agree in writing who pays and how long TNB's application may take before your rent-free period starts.

Our guide to 3-phase power and exhaust explains how to check this at a viewing.

Every consultation and treatment room usually needs a hand-wash basin, and dental surgeries need water and a drain at each chair. The practical questions are where the existing water point and floor trap sit, and whether you can run new pipes to the rooms without breaking the floor slab. Ask the landlord for the floor plan and any approved plumbing drawings, and write the landlord's consent to new piping and floor works into the tenancy.

Bring your dental equipment supplier to the second viewing. They will spot problems with drainage falls and plant space faster than anyone.

A clinic that uses X-ray equipment needs a licence under the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 (Act 304). For medical and dental diagnostic X-ray, the Ministry of Health's Medical Radiation Surveillance Division describes itself as the regulator that licenses and enforces Act 304. The room needs shielding designed for your machine and layout, and that affects neighbours on the other side of the wall and on the floor above. The clinic itself must be registered with the Ministry of Health under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 (Act 586) before it opens. Check the current requirements with the Ministry of Health and your equipment supplier before you sign.

General information, not legal advice.

There is no figure we can quote that applies to every clinic. The council sets parking requirements for each use, and the real test is practical: can an elderly patient park and walk in without struggling? Look for a ground floor with street parking in front, a public car park within a short walk, and a step-free route from the car to the door. Our article on how parking affects a shop shows how to judge it on site, and the accessible entrance guide covers ramps and OKU bays.

Longer than most retailers. A clinic spends heavily on plumbing, partitions and possibly shielding, and its registration relates to the premises, so moving means a new application. Many medical tenants ask for an initial term plus one or two renewal options, for example 3+3, with the renewal rent formula fixed in advance. See 3+3 terms, rent caps and break clauses.

MCE analysis of recent portal adverts, Nov 2026: last 6 months, shop types only, bait and duplicate adverts removed, middle half of asking prices.

Tell us your chair count and equipment list, and MCE will shortlist ground floors whose power, drainage and landlord allow a clinic. Start on the tenants page.

Written by Tok Ginstee (REN 37505), CID Realtors Sdn Bhd (E (1) 1855). Updated November 2026.