How to rent an office and not go bankrupt?

When setting up his own company, an entrepreneur must control many aspects - registration, completing the necessary formalities, providing himself with tools and a workplace. A very small percentage of newly established businesses have a chance to purchase premises for their own business, few entrepreneurs decide to do so also due to, for example, expectations as to the increase in the number of employees. Therefore, one of the frequently used solutions is the rental of premises intended for the functioning of the enterprise.

What to look for?

When renting premises for their company, an entrepreneur should consider two most important aspects - the rental price and the location. Most often, it turns out that a good location of a selected place is associated with significantly increased costs, while relatively low fees mean that the premises is located on the outskirts of the city or in a place with difficult access.

So how do you decide - savings or good location? Each business owner should individually analyze what is most important to his business. Due to its nature, it may turn out that the location is not really that important. In this case, these are activities that, for example, offer online services - programmers, graphic designers, etc. Direct contact with the client in such companies is rarely necessary, so the location automatically goes to the background, while the price of the rented premises becomes the most important aspect.

On the other hand, companies where contact with the customer is necessary - i.e. all kinds of shops, activities offering services that require the customer to arrive at the point, etc. - should pay a little more attention to where the selected premises are located. Perhaps investing in commercial space in the city center will ultimately prove to be more profitable than renting a point that is much cheaper, but located on the sidelines, which will be difficult for customers to find. On the other hand, it is also worth bearing in mind where the demand for the services or goods offered will be greatest - it may turn out that a service premises in a newly created housing estate outside the city will be much more profitable than in the center, where, for example, the number of companies offering a similar range of services or goods is already very large.

Important aspects of the contract

The rental agreement is an extremely important document - it protects both the owner and the landlord. It is worth paying attention to the fact that when concluding the contract, appropriate provisions should be included in it, which will avoid possible inconsistencies and misunderstandings.

First of all, when renting a premises in order to conduct your business there, it is good to include a record precisely specifying this purpose. Why? First of all, it protects the landlord against breaking the contract by the owner of the premises. If it is not indicated in the contract that the activity is to be conducted in the rented premises, the landlord will be able to terminate the concluded contract due to the tenant's failure to comply with its terms. The fact that, for example, during an interview when agreeing the terms of the lease, the purpose of conducting business activity was indicated is irrelevant in this case.

On the other hand, it may always turn out that the rented premises, for certain reasons, do not meet the conditions necessary to be able to run a business there, which was previously overlooked. However, if the tenant wants to terminate the contract for this reason, in which there is no information that the purpose of the tenancy is precisely to run the business, the landlord can defend himself against the allegations in this way. The lack of a provision allows it to be implicitly considered that the premises were rented for residential purposes, and not for service purposes.

The second extremely important aspect that should be taken into account when concluding a rental agreement is, of course, the rent. First of all, it is necessary to agree on its amount and on the conditions under which possible increases of this fee will be introduced. It can also be useful to indicate an appointment. Pursuant to the provisions of the Civil Code, if the parties do not specify in the lease agreement by when the rent is to be paid, it is necessary to pay such a fee in advance for a given period - i.e. at the beginning of January for renting a flat in January. If the contract is concluded for a period longer than one month and the date of payment of the rent is not specified, the tenant is obliged to pay the rent every month, by the 10th day of the month.

Therefore, when concluding a rental agreement, it is worth analyzing and negotiating its terms very well. The relevant provisions may be included in the contract itself or in an annex attached to it.

Rented premises

An alternative to a rented premises is a rented premises - most often as part of family relationships or among friends, but not only. Another company may also lend the premises to the enterprise. What is the difference between a loan and a rental? Pursuant to the provisions of the Civil Code, the lender undertakes to give the borrower a free lease of the premises. The duration of such an agreement may be definite or indefinite.

The lending agreement may be concluded in oral or written form, but it is obvious that the latter form is more certain. Therefore, it is worth drawing up a document, indicating in it the parties to the contract and the period for which it is to be valid. Also in this case, it may be useful to define the purpose for which the premises will be used.

As you can see, the lack of your own premises does not have to mean difficulties with starting your own business. However, it is worth taking care of all formalities from the beginning and protecting against possible misunderstandings between the landlord or lender of the premises and the tenant or using it. A well-chosen premises and a properly prepared contract can therefore give the entrepreneur considerable benefits and an advantage over competitors from the very beginning.