How to Fill an Office Today? Waive the Rent

Landlords in major office hubs are handing out incentives such as longer rent-free periods to encourage companies to sign leases. In London, rents for the best, centrally located properties are 1.3% ahead of 2019 levels. In the 10 biggest New York office deals of 2022, tenants got 7% of the lease te

March 7, 2023 . 8:51 AM

1 min read

Rent an apartment and you can only dream of getting up to a fifth of your tenancy rent-free. This is what it can take to fill some offices today.
In London, rents for the best, centrally located properties are 1.3% ahead of 2019 levels, according to commercial real-estate consulting firm Carter Jonas.
In the U.S. last year, tenant improvement allowances—money that owners give new tenants to pay toward fitting out the office—were 23% higher than in 2019, according to CBRE.
In the 10 biggest New York office deals of 2022, tenants got 7% of the lease term rent-free, compared with 3% in 2019, according to CompStak.
Central London net effective rents for top-notch “Class A” buildings—a measure that includes tenant perks—are 1% below prepandemic levels.