Looking at moving office to a place that has been fitted out with brand new interiors throughout. In the past every office we have had included common areas service charge, this one is charging a % based on the space we are leasing – based at £3 per sq. M – it seems a bit steep (around £2.5k a year) for spaces that should require little maintenance as they are all brand new.

Ohh, and the common areas are the (small) car park, shower room and corridors only (our suite has it’s own kitchen for which we are responsible)

Any thoughts?

Ta

£0.30p psf is cheap.

You’re paying for common lighting, heating, wear&tear, maintenance, cleaning and insurance.

Sq/ft proportional allocation is common practice.

That’s cheap. Just check the contract that it doesn’t get raised on a regular basis.

Ohh, and the common areas are the (small) car park, shower room and corridors only (our suite has it’s own kitchen for which we are responsible)

And the M&E services, and the building fabric, security, landscaping, cleaning etc etc.

Sorry, I meant £3 per sq. ft! Doh springs to mind.

That’s cheap. Just check the contract that it doesn’t get raised on a regular basis.

IMVHE, those charges are the actual costs on a pass-through basis. The landlord doesn’t mark them up, and the costs are split proportionally among the tenants. If the cost of maintenance goes up, the tenant pays more; if the cost goes down, the tenant pays less. Either way the landlord doesn’t gain or lose anything.