Pitfalls of renting non-residential premises. Cautions from the Professionals

How to rent and choose commercial premises for business. Advice is given by Vladimir Pavlovich Golovkevich, head of the company’s marketing department NewLifeGroup

As you know, efficiency, business development, and the attitude of clients and office employees largely depend on the choice of a commercial property for rent. And no one can know better about the features of commercial real estate than the owner himself. Therefore, the head of the marketing department at New Life Group, Vladimir Pavlovich Golovkevich, was invited to explain some of the intricacies of choosing a commercial premises.

Vladimir Pavlovich, where should you start choosing commercial real estate, for example, if an entrepreneur does not have extensive experience in this matter?

First of all, decide on the main issue, namely, choosing the type of real estate that the business needs. This could be an office, a retail space, a warehouse; universal spaces are popular. Many entrepreneurs refurbish residential apartments, but this issue is not always effective, and also requires significant financial and time costs; on average, it will take about a year to refurbish and re-register an apartment.

You can search for commercial real estate on your own or with a realtor. However, in cooperation with a realtor, you will have to spend some financial resources to pay for his services; this is a certain percentage of the transaction. It is less convenient and practical, but cheaper, to search for vacant commercial real estate on your own, or by involving friends. This option is also quite realistic; it is important to correctly determine the pricing policy of the real estate market in a certain district or area.

- Will the location of the office or retail outlet affect the promotion of the business?

Without a doubt! The object must be located in a place with high pedestrian and vehicle traffic. This is precisely why business centers are so popular; moreover, they offer a narrow specialization, which is convenient for the client. It is highly recommended to have a parking space near the property, convenient access, and parking security is desirable. If you are choosing production workshops where customers rarely appear, you can consider areas remote from the center, but take into account the convenience of travel for employees, so having a metro station in the immediate vicinity would be a good solution.

- The location and equipment of the office itself, I believe, is also not a recent issue.

Indeed, the layout of the office and the view from the window determine the convenience of employees, clients, and the ability of the manager to control work. When choosing a premises, I recommend being guided by the staff and area of activity. For example, if clients are not expected to visit the office frequently, it is worth choosing projects that are close to a square; they allow you to place a lot of equipment and employees in a small area. The number of offices is not critical; it can be one room; modern mobile partitions will help you easily divide it into sections. If you plan to frequently visit clients, you can choose an office with a corridor; it allows you to set up a client meeting area and divide the offices depending on the activity.

Any office must have telephony, the Internet, preferably fiber optic communications; without such amenities, modern business is simply impossible. Utility networks must be located in such a way as to provide access to the connection for any employee, preferably without extension cords or adapters that impair the appearance and fire safety. Not the least important issue is office renovation. If the repair has not yet been carried out, it is important to clarify who will carry it out, pay for it, and what is the time frame for completing the work.

Pay attention to the height of the ceilings; the quality of indoor air and the availability of air conditioning depend on this. In some cases, owners independently install central air conditioning and ventilation; when installing local air conditioners, they often rely on tenants, but options are also possible here. Air conditioning maintenance is often the responsibility of the tenant, or may be shared between the tenant and the owner. The appearance and well-groomed yard will be of considerable importance to the client.

- What issues should be focused on when considering pricing policy?

Another important point: discuss with the owner the responsibilities of the parties and the distribution of costs when eliminating various breakdowns, payment for security services and systems, telephony, and the Internet. A positive aspect is the provision of discounts by the owner for long-term cooperation.

-Vladimir Pavlovich, what would you like to advise entrepreneurs choosing premises for rent?

Consider the fact that commercial real estate is becoming one of the fundamental factors in business and its development. Therefore, be sure to take a responsible approach to choosing an office, and do not hesitate to ask even rather sensitive questions. One unclear point today can result in a series of serious problems tomorrow.

Renting office space must comply with legal standards and take into account the interests of both parties. Documents are drawn up in accordance with current legislation. Let's look at the legal subtleties of the issue and answer the question: what you need to know when renting an office.
Office rental agreement
The subject of an office lease agreement is a written agreement to transfer office premises for paid use. As a rule, the parties to such a transaction are the lessor and the lessee. The contract must necessarily contain information about the office being leased, indicate the rental period, the fee and the procedure for making it, the conditions for changing the rental fee, carrying out current and major repairs, and the responsibilities of the parties.
Actions before concluding a contract
First of all, find out that the selected office space is legally clear, that is, it is not mortgaged or seized. Let the landlord show you property documents and documents confirming the right to dispose of the premises. Firms providing rental services must present the Charter of the company (it is the main constituent document). You must ensure that the premises can be rented out. Check the data sheet and floor plan. If there are redevelopments, make sure that they are legally registered. Otherwise, you, and not the landlord, will have to answer to a commission from the housing inspection.
Unexpected situations
Sometimes situations arise when the premises are perfectly suited for an office and you need to start working urgently, but the technical data sheet does not correspond to the real picture. What to do? Make a copy of the registration certificate and certify it with the date when the contract was signed. Then, after concluding the contract, you can call a housing inspector from the BTI. The call is usually issued at the expense of the lessor (owner).
Termination of an agreement
It is possible to terminate an office lease agreement. The landlord has the right to terminate the contract when the tenant violates the terms of the written contract: does not pay the rent in full, or causes material damage. It is also possible to terminate the contract due to production needs (for example, the tenant needs the premises).
We must remember that in all cases the landlord must file a claim for termination of the office lease agreement in court. Only a court decision is the basis for terminating the contract.
Be careful when concluding an office lease agreement and follow all legal details. This guarantees you quiet work for the benefit of your company, eliminating all possible troubles.
I will ask you to communicate in this thread exclusively on the topic of what you need to know when renting an office, if you would like to help with other advice on leasing (not legal), for this there are separate topics that are presented on the left in the menu, or just below in the links to other forum articles.
Read on our forum:

Some citizens own several vacant or temporarily vacant apartments. Wanting to compensate for their costs of paying for utilities, and also trying to get an additional source of income, they rent them out. This is especially often observed in large cities of Russia and, of course, in the capital. Unfortunately, many owners do not know how to properly rent out an apartment, avoid unpleasant sanctions in the form of fines, and at the same time save on tax payments. In this article we will talk about just this. We will also consider what documents you must prepare to rent an apartment in order to protect yourself and your property from dishonest tenants.

Step one: preparing the living space

Before renting out an apartment, you first need to prepare it for new tenants. If repair work has not been carried out on it for a long time, update the wallpaper, ceiling and floor coverings. Thanks to even inexpensive cosmetic repairs, your apartment will look more presentable. This means you can rent it out on more favorable terms. You also need to pay attention to plumbing and electrical repairs. Protect yourself and your future tenant from possible troubles, such as electrical short circuits or flooding of neighbors below.

If you want to profitably rent out an apartment, make it cozy and comfortable to live in. Furnish it and equip it with the necessary household appliances such as a TV, washing machine and refrigerator. You must take your personal, memorable or valuable items, as well as documents from the apartment. After preparatory work, repairs and arrangement, put the documents for the apartment in order. Extinguish everything. If necessary, turn off the landline telephone or long-distance communication.

Step two: finding a landlord

After preparing your home for rent, you can begin searching for a tenant. You can do this yourself or seek help from city real estate agencies (for a fee or even free, they can take on the responsibility of finding clients). Place an ad on specialized websites on the Internet, and also place it in newspapers. As soon as you find a potential tenant, discuss all the nuances with him and come to a consensus, you can begin to prepare the necessary documents. Important: documents can only be signed by the owner - the one who owns the property by right of ownership, or the one who has a power of attorney to rent out the apartment.

Step three: drawing up a rental agreement

How to rent out an apartment? It is necessary to conclude a rental agreement for residential premises with the individual, the future tenant. If your tenant is a legal entity, you will have to enter into a lease agreement. It doesn’t matter for how long you plan to rent out the housing: for a year or for one day - you need to draw up a document in any case. It will not be difficult to find samples of standard agreements that stipulate the responsibilities of the parties: both the landlord and the tenant. You can use a similar ready-made sample and add those points that you consider necessary. In addition to indicating the subject of the agreement (providing possession and use of free residential premises suitable for living for a fee), delivery dates, amount of rent payment and other important general provisions, you can specify in the document the responsibilities of the tenant, for example:

ensuring the safety of living quarters;
maintaining the apartment in proper condition;
carrying out routine repairs of all breakdowns and malfunctions that arose during the period of use of the premises at your own expense;
making your own utility bills, etc.

Also, the contract must include the personal signatures of the parties. Important: a rental agreement for a period of less than a year is not subject to state registration. We advise you to have the contract notarized.

Step four: creating an inventory of property

An inventory of the property located in the apartment is integral. This document will ensure the safety and integrity of things transferred for use to the tenant and protect against theft. The inventory is compiled in simple written form. At the same time, it describes all the property (and its condition) that is located in the apartment, and also indicates the passport details and signatures of the parties. The inventory is created in two copies, as is the rental agreement. Be careful: in the process of signing all documents, you should check the correctness of the tenant’s passport data and ask him for a copy of the passport. Now you know how to independently draw up an inventory of property and an apartment rental agreement with the tenant.

Taxes paid by the landlord when renting out housing

Knowing how to properly rent out an apartment, you will protect yourself from serious troubles with the law. Article 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation states that any individual receiving income must pay tax. Systematic rental of an apartment with regular receipt of rent is equivalent to individual entrepreneurship. And in this case, the owner of the apartment will be required to pay tax. Its rate varies from 13% to 30% for taxpayers with different statuses. Those who permanently reside in the Russian Federation, that is, residents, will need to pay a tax of 13%. For individuals living in the Russian Federation for less than 183 days a year, the rate will reach 30%. Apartment rental tax must be paid once a year. At the same time, to calculate the amount of the tax base for the previous year, it is necessary to submit a declaration (3-NDFL) before April 30. It is possible to slightly reduce the amount of payments by registering an individual entrepreneur. In this case, the tax deduction will be 6% of the income received. Choose the most suitable tax method for yourself and submit your return on time.

Illegal rental of an apartment. Taxes and their non-payment

All landlords should know the following. If an apartment is rented out unofficially, the law provides for various penalties. entails a serious fine. It can be 20%-40% of the unpaid amount. Violation of the law may result in criminal liability. For failure to pay the tax authorities an amount of 600 thousand rubles. or more, the court can impose not only a large fine of 300 thousand rubles, but also imprisonment for up to one year. Don’t think that they won’t find out about your illegal business activities. There is always a possibility that your neighbors, for example, dissatisfied with your noisy tenants, will complain to the district police officer or directly to the Federal Tax Service. Therefore, we recommend that you fulfill your tax obligations on time. This way you will protect yourself from possible troubles with the law.

Registration at the place of stay

According to the law, if a tenant rents your residential premises for a period of more than 90 days, he must obtain a temporary registration (otherwise known as temporary registration). To do this, he must provide the local FMS office with an identification document, an application in the prescribed form, as well as a rental agreement for residential premises. If temporary registration is not carried out on time, not only the tenant, but also the owner of the property faces a fine of 2.5 thousand rubles.

Termination of a residential lease agreement. Is it possible to do this ahead of schedule?

If necessary, the tenancy agreement can be terminated in advance. It is advisable that the conditions for its termination be specified in advance in the text of the document. If such a clause is not provided for in the contract, then it can be terminated on the grounds provided by law. If the tenant is an individual, he can cancel the contract without specifying reasons and vacate the premises by notifying the landlord three months in advance. The owner of the property can terminate a contract that has a term unilaterally only in the event of non-payment of rent or improper use of the residential premises, including deterioration of its condition. If the tenant is a legal entity, the contractual relationship may be terminated early if one of the parties violates its terms. A tenancy agreement that does not have a term can be terminated by notifying the tenant three months before the actual eviction.

Finally

So, when renting out a residential property, you need to take into account many nuances. How to rent out an apartment? First, you need to correctly draw up an agreement, specifying all the obligations of the parties, the rental period, the amount of rent and other important points. This document, certified by a notary, will protect the owner of the residential premises. In addition to the contract, you should also draw up an inventory of the property; it will help keep the landlord’s things in proper condition. It is important to remember that the legal rental of an apartment requires the mandatory payment of tax. Its amount is calculated according to the annually submitted 3-NDFL declaration. Failure to pay taxes can result in serious trouble.