How do I lease adjoining offices separately? One of my offices is tenanted without a lease and the tenant wants to sign a lease for 2 years for just one of 3 adjoining offices. What do I need to be aware of regarding who pays what outgoings? Offices were previously leased to one tenant. Should I use an agent? Thank you.
A couple of issues to be aware of:
how do you share the cost of power as each will use different amounts, you may have to have separate metering? (Water split isn't as big a problem as staff will probably only be 1 per office). A/C split based on floor area.
Are there common areas/services eg: reception/ist
Will each office office be lockable/secure?Whether to use an agent? I'd probably suggest not to worry (they sure won't), finding your own tenant may be easier eg use of local noticeboards in shopping centre/local paper etc.
Before you negotiate a commercial lease for your business, you need to understand the potential terms and clauses used in the lease agreement before and during discussions with a landlord.
Before reviewing the agreement, however, first make sure that you are listed properly as one of the parties. Though many people do not take a close look at this, it can be important in the future. For example, if a couple opens a business together, are both of their names on the lease? Is she represented by her married or her maiden name? Should the couple separate, this could be an important point of contention. Also, if the company is a corporation or an LLC, the company name — and not your personal name — should appear on the lease since a corporation operates as a separate entity. You, as an individual, want to avoid liability. Review these points with your attorney.
It is also important to evaluate and discuss the length of the lease agreement, the cost of rent each month, and how often and by how much the rent can be raised. Remember, all terms in a lease should be open to negotiation.
There are plenty of things that you should be aware of. I think that it would be a better option to have an agent involved in the process if you don't have any prior experience of such dealing, on the contrary the agent will be well-versed with the legal formalities that need to be taken care off and also the way the office will be used as the office will be split into two. Also, the laws does change with the state and also the percentage and the legal issues associated with it.
I think you should take the advice of attorney.
I think it's better if you take some legal advice.
Hi cas4,
this has definitely been done many times before and yes, I would proportion outgoings based on the space being rented. Your lawyer can advise you further.I guess you really have to seek advice from expert to make the most of the deal.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
