When you are looking at leasing new office space, you only look at the rental price to see if an office is within your budget. The net rent is only part of the total cost of the rent. After all, there are many more costs involved than just the monthly rent. In order to indicate whether an office is cheap or expensive, it is necessary to look at the costs per workplace per employee.
When calculating the total costs of leasing an office space, there are several categories that complete the picture. In order to indicate whether an office is cheap or expensive, it is necessary to look at the costs per workplace per employee. However, most tenants usually do not have a complete overview of the total costs. Which costs do you have to take into account?
Rental Price
When considering a rental price, you must include all costs associated with renting the office space. The rent itself is the largest cost item in the total cost. However, this is immediately the most clear and well-organized publication. You can then check whether the rental price is realistic by calculating the costs per square feet. Also compare the office space with other detached office buildings in the area.
Service Charge
In addition to the agreed rental price per month, there are also general costs that are included in the summary of total costs. What are general costs? With general costs you should think of the service costs. These are additional costs related to supplies and services that the tenant pays to the landlord. This includes gas, water, electricity, internet, reception services and municipal taxes.
Installations & Interior
These costs can be very varied. You can make it as colorful as you want. Costs that fall under installations and interior all contribute to improving the rented office space. How much is invested in this depends on the needs and wishes of you as a tenant. Is your budget less adequate? Then you can think about renting office furniture.
The costs for the purchase of the installations and interior can be: office layout (partition walls), access control (keyless access), laying cables, power and light facilities, air conditioning, heating, kitchen, toilets and of course the office furniture. In the end, every employee must have a workplace.
Maintenance Costs
Every employee must be provided with a workplace. To avoid mistakes when renting an office space, it is wise to make a complete overview. In this overview you note the maintenance costs that may come into play when renting the office space. This way you will not be faced with any surprises after signing the lease. Maintenance costs can include:
- Repairs and maintenance, such as painting the walls or replacing the equipment;
- Maintenance of mechanical and electronic equipment, such as: lighting, air conditioning, heating and the elevator;
- Minor improvements and internal relocation, such as phone and internet rerouting;
- Cleaning costs
- Waste processing
Services & Facilities
This includes everything that has to do with supporting the tenant in her daily business. Think of expenses for reserving the meeting rooms or mail processing. In addition, the costs for copying and printing are also included. Often the large companies make use of these options. Telecommunications and ICT also fall within this category, such as the use of telephones, internet connection and voicemail system.
And it may not immediately come to mind, but the catering or lunch also falls into this category. These are the costs for the food itself, not the pantry, but as an owner you are free to determine this yourself. When renting an office space, in some cases you can share these facilities, such as in a business center.
By now you know that there is more to renting an office space than just the monthly rent. For example, you will have to deal with service costs, costs for installation and maintenance costs. As with all decisions in life, all the pros and cons need to be carefully considered before you take the actual decision.