Are you paying attention to the right things when renting office space?

As a startup entrepreneur, you no doubt already have a picture in your head of what your ideal office space looks like. A well-located, representative and inviting building with all the comforts, spacious enough to offer you and your employees a pleasant place to work, with plenty of room to grow. In the early stages, however, that ideal office isn’t always within reach. After all, you first need to turn a profit before you can invest in a great office space. So it often comes down to finding a compromise between what you need, what’s available, and what fits your budget. To help you along, we’ve put together a list of tips to help you, as an entrepreneur, rent a suitable office space.

1. Keep the future in mind

Before you start looking for office space, you need to know exactly what you’re looking for. You might be just starting out now, but do you want to run your business over the coming years with the team you currently have, or do you want to be able to accommodate rapid growth? If you’re confident you’re going to grow, consider renting office space ‘to grow into’. Or look into the option of renting additional space further down the line.

2. Calculate your total monthly costs for the office space

The rental of office space is generally exempt from VAT. However, it can sometimes be more advantageous to have the rental subject to VAT after all. In that case, you can agree with the landlord on the ‘option for taxed rental’. But rent isn’t the only cost you’ll pay. All sorts of additional costs are often added on top, such as service charges, but also energy, water, internet, telephony, cleaning, and so on. Only once you know your total monthly costs can you judge whether you’re getting a fair price.

3. Make sure all agreements are put in writing

Once you’ve found a suitable office space, make clear agreements with the landlord. Make sure all of these agreements are recorded in writing. Never accept a lease that was drawn up by the landlord themselves, especially if it’s only a few pages long. It’s advisable to use the standard lease template from the Raad voor Onroerende Zaken (Dutch Real Estate Council). This ROZ contract can then be adjusted in consultation with the landlord. Also, always keep the correspondence between you and the landlord — you never know when you might need it.

4. Track your energy consumption

If you set up in a business centre or shared commercial building, you obviously don’t want to end up footing the bill for other companies’ energy costs. So make sure the lease states that you only pay for the energy your own business uses. Track your energy consumption and check that the costs charged to you match up. Don’t have access to the meter readings? Then you have the right to ask the landlord for a copy of the statement from the energy company.

5. Keep an eye on rent and service charge increases

Generally, the lease will also include an annual rent adjustment based on inflation correction. A review can be requested, but only after the contractual rental period has ended. Make sure the landlord sticks to the rent adjustments set out in the contract, rather than raising the rent partway through. This also applies to the service charges you’ve agreed with the landlord. Armed with these tips, go find yourself a great office space. Deskfinder has a large selection to choose from. If you find an office space you like but still want to keep looking, simply save it as a ‘favourite’.