We have prepared a tool to make the entire leasing process easier
The office leasing glossary is a free PDF containing several dozen terms in seven sections, arranged in the order of the process: the parties, financial terms (headline vs effective rent, rent free, fit-out contribution, indexation and cap, service charge, TCO), lease and exit terms (break option, make good, audit right), the space search, space and people, sustainability, and change management. Every entry comes with a definition and practical negotiating context. The fifteen most common terms are explained on this page.
Updated 2 September 2026
Renegotiating a lease or relocating an office is something your landlord does day in, day out, while you return to it once every five or seven years. This asymmetry is one of the main reasons lease negotiations are so often uneven.
The glossary is the first step towards restoring that balance.
It is a structured compendium of the key terms that come up at every stage of the process: from the first conversations with the landlord, through the financial terms, to the clauses governing your exit from the lease. Each entry gives you not only a definition but also practical context - why the clause matters and what it actually affects.
What is inside?
Several dozen terms in seven sections, arranged in the order in which they arise in the process:
1The parties
Who sits on the other side of the table, and why the interests of the tenant and the landlord are structurally opposed.
landlord · tenant2Financial terms
The section where the most money tends to slip away. The difference between the rate in the offer and what you will actually pay.
headline vs effective rent · rent free · fit-out contribution · indexation and cap · service charge · TCO3Lease and exit terms
Clauses that do not hurt today but can take you by surprise at the end of the lease, including the cost of reinstating the space to its original condition.
Heads of Terms · break option · exit conditions · make good · audit right · lease drafting4The space search process
What a well-run process looks like, and at which point negotiating leverage is built.
long list vs short list · RFP · pre-let · shell & core · vacancy5Space and people
The terms that determine the answer to the question of how many square metres you really need.
FTE · GLA vs NLA · occupancy · workplace strategy6Sustainability
The criteria and certifications that boards and investors ask about more and more often.
ESG · BREEAM · LEED7Change and project management
Two areas which, when overlooked, most often cost a tenant time and budget during a relocation.
change management · project & cost managementWith the glossary, you will:
Enter negotiations with confidence
You will calmly analyse every clause in the Heads of Terms and the final lease, knowing exactly what you are agreeing to.
Spot the clauses that cost the most
Such as no cap on indexation, unfavourable exit terms or an understated fit-out contribution.
Speak the same language as the landlord
Which is the foundation of effective negotiations.
Save your own and your team's time
Instead of searching for definitions in different places, you have them organised in a single document.
Selected terms - quick definitions
The fifteen terms tenants ask about most often, taken straight from the glossary. You will find the full treatment of every term, with examples and negotiating context, in the free PDF below (currently available in Polish only).
Landlord
The owner of the building, or an entity managing it on the owner's behalf (asset manager, property manager): the party that lets the space and collects the rent. The landlord negotiates every day and has market data and a legal team; the tenant does it once every 5-7 years. This asymmetry is one of the main sources of imbalance in negotiations.
Tenant
A company that leases office space from the building owner. The tenant bears the costs of rent, service charges, fit-out and handing back the space. The interests of the tenant and the landlord are structurally opposed, which is why an advisor on one side of the table cannot represent the other.
Headline rent
The nominal rent before discounts: what you usually see in the offer. Think of it as a car's list price: hardly anyone actually pays it, but it is the starting point for negotiations.
Effective rent
The rent after all discounts and incentives, as opposed to headline rent. It is what you really pay per month once all the “gifts” from the landlord have been amortised. Only effective rent allows a fair comparison of offers.
Rent free
Periods without rent, most often at the start of the lease and sometimes during its term: a form of incentive from the landlord. The longer the rent-free period, the lower the effective rent.
Fit-out contribution
The landlord's contribution towards the tenant's fit-out of the space, expressed in EUR/m². The higher it is, the less you add from your own budget. A negotiating item worth pushing up aggressively.
Service charge
Additional charges for running the building: cleaning of common areas, security, reception, management and minor repairs. You pay in proportion to the space you occupy.
Indexation and cap
The annual adjustment of rent, most often in line with HICP (for EUR-denominated leases) or CPI. In periods of high inflation, uncapped indexation can raise rent by 25-35% over 5 years. A cap is an upper limit on the annual increase (e.g. “HICP, but no more than 3% a year”) and one of the most important clauses; no cap means a hidden pricing risk.
TCO (total cost of occupancy)
The total cost of occupying the space over the lease term: not just rent, but also service charges, utilities, parking, fit-out, furniture, IT, the move and the cost of handing back the space. A key KPI for the CFO when making a leasing decision.
Audit right
The tenant's right to audit the service charge reconciliations. Without it, you cannot verify whether the landlord is charging costs correctly. An audit typically reveals overpayments of 8-18%.
Break option
A right, written into the lease, allowing the tenant to terminate the lease once before the full term expires, provided specific conditions are met (e.g. repayment of part of the incentives). It provides flexibility if business strategy changes; landlords usually try to make it harder to exercise or attach penalties to it.
Heads of Terms (HoT)
A list of the key lease terms that both parties agree on before the lawyers start drafting the lease. They form the basis for further negotiations, and most of the financial terms are settled at this stage.
Make good
The obligation to reinstate the space to its original condition on handover: removing partition walls, floor finishes and installations. It can cost 30-80% of the value of the fit-out, an unplanned expense that takes tenants by surprise.
Vacancy
Physical office space standing empty and waiting for a tenant. The vacancy rate is the basic barometer of the parties' bargaining power: a high rate means a tenant's market, a low one a landlord's market.
GLA vs NLA
Gross Leasable Area (total space) vs Net Leasable Area (usable space, excluding columns and load-bearing walls). Sometimes the landlord prices the rent on GLA while you calculate on NLA, and the difference can be 5-15%.
Why do we make it available free of charge?
The stakes in lease negotiations are high: they affect your company's budget and your team's working comfort for years to come. It pays to enter the process well prepared.
It is a proven compendium of knowledge that we share because we believe a well-informed tenant is the best partner for a conversation. If, after reading it, you decide the scale of the task is beyond your in-house team, get in touch with us.
The glossary is the starting point. The next step is the Tenant Playbook, an Excel tool (currently in Polish) that helps you establish in 20-30 minutes whether your situation calls for a renegotiation, a relocation or a stay vs go decision.