How to rent out office space: necessary steps

Step one: outline your potential tenant base. Offices are in demand among all kinds of professionals, from business teams to solo entrepreneurs. The latter usually provides less hassle, especially on the landlord’s side.  

The tenants’ professions are another important factor. You can rent out your office to coaches and counselors, mental health or bodywork therapists, physicians, etc: those professionals usually have good ethics and steady clientele of their own. If you work in one of those fields yourself, the job will be even easier.  

Deciding what tenants you want to lease to affects everything else, from advertising your rental to getting permits and setting up your prices. 

Step two: write your business plan. 

Basically, everything described in this article IS a part of a business plan. But don’t forget to add budgeting to it.  Start with necessities. Does the office need repairs and furnishing? What insurance plan will you choose? Do you want to outsource cleaning services? Then estimate how much money you will need for all that, and what ROI are you looking at? 

Step three: check if the building owners are okay with that type of rental. Even if the neighboring offices are leased to similar businesses, it never hurts to double-check. Explain what your plan and concept are to the building’s management team: they may even give you some useful tips and insights.    

Step four: furnish the office and get the necessary equipment. After you figure out what tenants to target, make sure the space has everything for a comfortable workflow. Here are some examples: 

• A mental health counseling office needs soft furnishings, lots of natural light, a serene color palette in the interior, good noise insulation; 
• An office for group therapy or coaching needs plenty of folding chairs, desks, good lighting, numerous electric sockets, an MFP, steady WiFi, a whiteboard, a kitchenette; 
• An office for bodywork therapy needs a treatment table, dressing and waiting areas, and biohazard waste bins. 

You got the idea. Some things are universal for any office rental, like AC and a good ventilation system. 

Step four: get the paperwork and permits. Different countries have different landlord laws, so do your homework on what is required in yours. A business license isn’t necessary in many cases of renting out small offices, but an STFI permit will most likely be needed. Additional insurance is always a great idea. 

Step four: prepare to showcase your rental. Take high-quality pictures and videos of the office, including a 360° view. 

No matter what leasing avenue you’ll choose, your tenants must have an opportunity to observe the rental remotely. 

Step five: start looking for tenants. The most common options here are: 

• Hiring a rental agent. Arguably the most expensive way to rent out your office space. Agents and brokers take hefty commissions. If you’re planning leases for 1 year or longer, you might consider paying. If you don’t want to rent your office long-term, you can do alright without agents. 

• Put a “For Lease” sign outside. An old-school yet viable practice to attract passersby. 

• Place online ads. There are hundreds of real estate platforms and marketplaces on the Internet. Some are free. Not all of them have convenient additional features: for example, you’ll be able to exchange messages with interested users, but that’s all. 

But platforms like Wellerz are not just sites where you can list office space for rent. Here landlords can pre-approve tenants, set up their own fees starting from 1 hour, secure transactions, 24-hour cancellation policy and more. All of that is free of charge: you post your office space listings and wait for requests from tenants.