Office Space to Rent
- The Pitfalls

My experience of renting office space has taught me a few things I now use before considering another office space to rent.

Some years ago I set up my own business working on a PC from home using the telephone and internet.

After three years the business had started to take off.

It was then that I needed more space for merchandise than my spare room and garage could accommodate.

I was getting some regular large orders and as a result I needed to quickly find some office space to rent.

In the town closest to us I found a number of buildings had office space to rent. The most affordable space however, was on the top floor of an old office building and the only access was up a narrow flight of stairs.

The main problem was that it would be difficult for the delivery people to make deliveries and difficult for me to despatch customer orders.

Another office space to rent was next to a grocery store. The office space was the right size and the entrance was in an alley way, making it perfect for deliveries.

Within two weeks I had decided to rent this office space, signed a 12 month lease with an option to renew and moved in. It was only later that I came to regret acting so quickly.

The main plus point to renting this office space was the delivery access. What I had not thought about was the next door grocery store where deliveries were frequent and whose trucks often blocked the alley way.

This meant that sometimes my own deliveries could not be made and my scheduled pickups had to be rearranged for another day in the week. This caused me delays, extra work and customer complaints.

The waste garbage bins from the store also caused problems. During hot weather the stench from rotting vegetables discarded by the store would turn even the strongest stomach.

When it rained if the bin lids were not closed the rain would wash out a river of putrid slime. If the outside drain also became blocked with discarded cardboard cartons, as it did from time to time, then the slime would seep under my door. 

On several occasions it spoiled some of my goods waiting for shipment. Complaints to the landlord, when you could reach him fell largely on deaf ears.

There were many other problems as I was to learn from the previous tenant who came by one day to pick up some mail.

You could say that the moral of this office space to rent was that I acted in haste and could now repent at my leisure. However I learned something from this experience that I put to good use the next time :

1. Ask for details of the previous two tenants and speak to them about their experience with the letting
2. Check the terms of the lease to see if there is a get-out clause and if there are penalties
3. Check if the contract has a grievance clause and recourse to a 3rd party if you are unhappy with the way complaints are handled
4. Stake out the location for a few hours on different days to observe what goes on

Of course with the majority of office space to rent, problems like this are rare, but as they say, let the buyer beware, or in this case, the renter.

Household Tips & Do-It-Yourself Advice