When companies lease office space in Romania, one of the least understood but most significant costs is the office lease service charge. It may appear as a single line in your lease agreement, yet it can represent 20–30 % of your total occupancy expenses. Understanding how these charges work— and what you can control — can make a measurable difference to your bottom line.
Put simply, in Romania, an office lease service charge represents all the costs the landlord incurs to operate and maintain the building to the standards defined in the lease agreement. These operating costs are then shared proportionally among all tenants.
📌 What Does Office Lease Service Charge Typically Cover?
While there’s no single legal standard that applies uniformly to all office buildings, a typical service charge budget covers:
- Property taxes
- Cleaning and janitorial services
- Security staff and systems
- Technical maintenance (both preventive and corrective)
- Elevator and systems maintenance
- Landscaping and external maintenance
- Building management and administration fees
- Insurance for common areas
📈 In Bucharest, average service charges range from €4 to €6/m²/month depending on building efficiency and energy systems.
📊 Typical Service Charge Breakdown in Romania
Here’s an example of how costs are often allocated in a modern office building:
These proportions can vary by building type, age, and management practices, so always review your building’s specific budget.
📌 Why Does It Matter?
Service charges can add significantly to your total office space costs. For tenants under triple net (NNN) leases, these tenant costs are entirely the tenant’s responsibility—making it essential to understand and budget for them.
Transparent reporting and regular reconciliation allow tenants to monitor costs and detect any unjustified increases. Reviewing past budgets helps estimate future expenses and negotiate better terms during renewals.
📌 Key Considerations for tenants
- Transparency: Ask for a clear, itemized budget and check previous reconciliations
- Reconciliation: Ensure detailed annual reviews of actual versus budgeted costs
- Audit Rights: Retain the right to verify the landlord’s financial records.
- Exclusions: Clarify what’s not included (e.g., landlord capex or marketing costs).
Comparison: Benchmark service charges across several office buildings to identify efficiency gaps.
💡 Bottom Line
Office lease service charges aren’t just a line on your lease—they’re a major part of your total occupancy cost.
Understanding, negotiating, and managing them is essential for cost control and avoiding unpleasant surprises.
By analyzing how service charges are built up, tenants can make smarter real estate decisions and optimize total office space costs in Romania’s competitive office market.
