A Guide to Office Space for Rent in Australia
Renting office space in a market that is filled with possibilities can lead to an endless search for space. Among the million considerations, you have to balance your budget with the need to find appropriate office space. Throw in having to make sure that you understand many of the complicated tenant laws, and you can find yourself in wandering through a maze of information and misinformation.
However, leasing space in Australia’s business economy does not have to be a fruitless venture. With many avenues for both conventional and alternative leasing, you can find an affordable space at a much lower cost than you might have thought. Whether working in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane or in some of Australia’s other locales, office space for rent can be acquired quite easily with a little planning.
Continue reading below for our guide to leasing office space in Australia.
Space
When looking for office space, make sure to estimate how much space you will need. This list should comprise of spaces that are absolutely necessary to your business, areas which include restrooms, break areas, receptionist areas, private offices and meeting rooms. In Australia, the law requires that you have 10 square meters per person, so when budgeting for space keep this in mind.
Also important is making sure to draw up a mock up floor plan. This floor plan will help you figure out how much space you need. Additionally, a floor plan will allow you to maximise space, so you do not spend more on rent than needed.
Leasing Types
Before searching for a space, consider the types of leasing contracts available. Conventional leases come in two types: all-inclusive and non-all-inclusive. All-inclusive leases provide renters with both leasing the space and many of the utilities (electricity and water). Some might find this leasing option a more appropriate choice for budgeting purposes. Non-all-inclusive leases, conversely, will charge you a lower monthly rate, but your utilities will vary from month-to-month.
Other viable options in leasing office space include the virtual office, co-working and executive suites. The virtual office and co-working spaces allow you to lease the use of space, which typically reduces your overhead. The executive office is a fully furnished alternative to the traditional lease. All of these spaces allow the flexibility of scaling your operations up or down and easily relocating, and their monthly charge is drastically less than conventional leasing options.
Flexibility
Flexibility is an important factor in looking for a lease because you do not want to open up shop in a location and find that the location was not suitable for business. Worse yet, you have locked yourself into a lengthy lease, and breaking the lease would be more severe than waiting until the lease ends. Before entering into any agreements, look for ways to maximise your leasing options.
A couple ways you can do this is to look for month-to-month leases, or better yet, look for leases that will allow you a little bit of scalability. Many of the corporate office leasing companies can modify your lease to reflect the changes in the amenities you need for the business, and within a few days, you can either expand or minimise your operations. Even better, these leasing companies have transferable leases, so let’s say you want to relocate, they can assist you with your move. The point is to exhaust every leasing option available to your business.
The Adventurer’s Guide To Rental Space In Australia
Whether you go the traditional route in leasing office space or with alternative leasing that provides you with the flexibility your business needs, you can get the most out of your lease by going in informed. As an informed renter, you can leverage your way into some of the more premium office spaces in some of Australia’s business districts as well. Ultimately, though, your ideal lease will allow you the flexibility to manage and grow your business.