Pune has one of India's most active office markets, from IT parks in Hinjewadi and Kharadi to smaller buildings in Baner and the older business districts in the city centre. That choice helps tenants, but it also means more ways to sign a lease you later regret. Here's what to check before you commit.
Choose the location around your people
Pune's office areas include Kharadi, Viman Nagar, Yerawada and Kalyani Nagar in the east; Baner, Balewadi and Aundh in the west; the IT parks of Hinjewadi further west; Hadapsar and Magarpatta in the south-east; and the older business areas around Shivajinagar, Camp and Bund Garden Road.
Start with where your team lives and how they will travel. Peak-hour traffic on the main corridors can turn a short distance into a long commute, so check travel times at 9 am and 6 pm, not on a map. Look at the walk from the nearest metro station or bus stop, and at food, banking and safety in the area late in the evening. A slightly higher rent in the right place often pays for itself in hiring and retention.
Compare on usable area, not quoted area
Rents are usually quoted on chargeable area, which includes your share of lobbies, lifts and other common areas. The carpet area you can actually use is often only around 65% to 75% of that. Ask for the carpet area in writing and compare buildings on rent per usable square foot and per seat.
Check what you are really paying
- Maintenance (CAM) charges, and how and when they increase.
- Parking: how many slots are included and what extra slots cost.
- Power: the sanctioned load available for your floor, the backup capacity, and how generator power is charged.
- Air-conditioning: the operating hours included and the charge for running it after hours or at weekends.
- Property tax and any other charges passed on to tenants.
Lease terms to negotiate
- Escalation: whether rent rises every year or in a bigger step every three years, and by how much. Model the total over the full term, not just year one.
- Lock-in: the period during which neither side can exit. Keep it as short as your plans allow, and agree on what happens if you need to leave early.
- Security deposit: the number of months, the refund timeline and any deductions allowed.
- Rent-free period: time to complete your fit-out before rent starts. Agree it in writing, linked to when you actually get possession.
- Landlord works: what will be ready on handover, such as air-conditioning, washrooms, flooring and fire systems.
- Repairs: who handles structural repairs, waterproofing and common-area problems, and how quickly.
- Exit and reinstatement: the condition you must return the space in, and whether the landlord can keep your fit-out instead.
- Renewal, signage and subletting: your right to renew and at what rent, where you can put signs, and whether you can sublet or share space.
Due diligence before signing
- Clear title, and confirmation that the person signing has the right to lease the property
- An occupancy certificate for the building, and approval for commercial use
- The building's fire NOC and the condition of its fire systems
- Whether the space is in a Special Economic Zone. SEZ processing areas can only be leased by approved SEZ units, so check before shortlisting
- Society or building rules on fit-out hours, deliveries and signage
- Signs of leaks or damp; visit during the monsoon if you can
Registration and stamp duty
In Maharashtra, leave-and-licence and lease agreements must be stamped and registered. Stamp duty and registration charges depend on the rent, deposit and term, so add them to your move-in budget and agree in the term sheet who pays them.
Plan the timeline
For a bare-shell office, start your search four to six months before you need to move. Finding and negotiating the space takes several weeks, and design, approvals and the fit-out take longer. Give notice on your current office only once the new agreement is signed and the rent-free period is confirmed.