Move-in-ready offices sound great until you sign a 3-year lock-in. Here's the 12-point checklist we walk every client through before signing.
A managed office is the fastest way to put a 30-person team into a polished workspace without spending six months on fit-out. Lock-in, escalation, exit clauses and SLAs all matter, and getting them wrong costs more than the rent itself.
This is the checklist we walk every client through before they sign. It's stripped of jargon and focused on the line items that turn into surprises 12 months in.
What A Managed Office Actually Is
A managed office sits between a coworking private cabin and a traditional leased office. The operator handles fit-out, furniture, internet, housekeeping, reception, security and maintenance. You pay one bill per seat per month and walk in with laptops.
The model is ideal for teams that want their own brand and culture inside a polished space, without committing capital to a fit-out or building an admin function. It's not ideal if you need deep customisation, regulated-data isolation or 10-year occupancy certainty.
The 12-Point Checklist
Run every shortlisted space through this list before you negotiate price.
- Lock-in period and exit clause, what does it cost to leave early
- Escalation clause, year-on-year price increase, is it capped
- What's actually included in the per-seat price, get it in writing
- Internet redundancy, single ISP or dual? What's the SLA on uptime
- Meeting room credits vs pay-as-you-go, and the hourly rate beyond your quota
- Power backup, full load or partial? How long does the DG run during outages
- Pantry, housekeeping and reception staffing hours and SLAs
- Customisation allowance, can you brand the entrance, paint walls, change layout
- Expansion guarantee for adjacent seats, the right of first refusal if your team grows
- GST invoice format and input-credit eligibility, critical for B2B businesses
- Security deposit, how much, refund timeline, and adjustment terms
- Notice period for vacating and any restoration obligations
Red Flags That Should Make You Walk
Three contract patterns predict pain almost every time. If you see any of them, push hard or walk.
Uncapped escalation. A 'market-rate' annual increase clause without a cap can land you a 15-20% hike in year two. Insist on a fixed cap, 7% maximum.
Vague inclusions. If 'internet, housekeeping, security, pantry' isn't broken down with hours and SLAs, you'll fight about every grey area later.
Personal guarantees on early-stage companies. A founder PG on a 36-month managed-office contract is rarely necessary, especially if you're offering 3-6 months of deposit.
How To Compare Two Offers
Normalise everything to an all-in 12-month cost per seat. Then add a 'risk premium' for each unfavourable clause: ₹500/seat/month for uncapped escalation, ₹300 for weak power backup, ₹400 for restrictive customisation.
The cheapest headline rate frequently loses on the all-in score. We've seen Cyber City spaces with a 12% higher rack rate win against Sohna alternatives because the lock-in flexibility and expansion clause were materially better.
When Managed Beats Leased, And When It Doesn't
Managed wins when team size is uncertain, when you want to enter a new city quickly, or when you don't want to capitalise a fit-out. The per-seat economics break even with leased somewhere around 36-48 months.
Leased wins for teams above 200 seats with high occupancy certainty, when you need full IT and security control, or when long-term branding and culture inside the space matters more than flexibility.
Final Word
A good managed office contract reads like a partnership, not a tenancy. The operator is on the hook for your day-to-day experience, you're on the hook for predictable occupancy. Get the clauses right and the model is genuinely magical. Get them wrong and you'll spend the next two years wishing you'd leased.
Need a second pair of eyes on a contract? Our consultants will read it free of charge before you sign.
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