What office rent is made of

Office buildings quote their prices per square metre per month. An offer usually includes these items:

  • Rent: in modern office buildings it is quoted in euros, per square metre per month (€/m²/month). Smaller buildings and Class B buildings often quote in forints as well.
  • Service charge: it covers the building's shared costs, such as cleaning, security, maintenance and the energy of the shared areas. It is also charged per square metre per month and varies from building to building.
  • Add-on factor: you pay not only for your own office but for a proportional share of the shared areas, such as the lobby and the corridors. So you usually pay for 5–15% more space than you actually use.
  • Parking: spaces in the underground car park or on the surface are charged separately, per space per month.
  • Your own consumption: your office's electricity, and in some buildings part of the heating and cooling, is billed by what you use.
  • VAT: rents are usually quoted without VAT ("+ VAT"). Letting property in Hungary is exempt from VAT by default, but the landlord can opt to charge it. Ask whether VAT is added to the rent offered.

How to work out the monthly cost

The monthly cost is: leased area × (rent + service charge) + parking + your own consumption, with VAT on top. The leased area is the space you actually use, increased by the add-on factor.

Two offers can have the same rent and still cost different amounts each month if the service charge, the add-on factor or the parking differs. So always compare the full monthly cost, not just the rent.

The rent calculator

Officerentinfo.hu's rent calculator is on each office building's page. You give the number of workstations, whether you want private offices, open space or a mix, and the support rooms you need. The calculator allows 15 m² per workstation in private offices and 7.3 m² in open space, then adds the corridors and the building's add-on factor. From the building's rent, service charge and parking it works out the monthly cost, per workstation too. You can download the result as a PDF.

What to check in an offer

  • Indexation: the rent is usually raised once a year by a price index. For rents in euros this is typically a European consumer price index, for rents in forints the Hungarian Central Statistical Office's (KSH) consumer price index. Ask which index applies and whether the increase is capped.
  • Currency: if the rent is in euros, ask whether you can pay in forints and at what exchange rate you will be invoiced.
  • Lease term: modern office buildings usually let for three to five years. A longer term generally brings better terms.
  • Rent-free period: the landlord may waive the rent for a few months at the start of the lease.
  • Fit-out contribution: the landlord usually contributes to fitting out the office, and the amount depends on the lease term among other things. Ask what the landlord pays for and what you pay for.
  • Security: the landlord asks for a deposit or a bank guarantee, usually equal to several months' rent and service charge.
  • Service charge reconciliation: in many buildings you pay it in advance and the landlord reconciles it with the actual costs at the end of the year. Ask what it includes and how it has changed in recent years.

How to compare offers

Ask every landlord for the same items and count the whole lease term. Rent-free months and the fit-out contribution reduce what you pay over the lease, so an offer with a higher rent can be cheaper overall.

On Officerentinfo.hu, the comparison shows the rent, the service charge, the parking fee and the available space of the buildings you select side by side. What else to compare is in our guide to comparing office buildings.

Office rents in Budapest

Rent depends on a building's class, age and location. The new buildings in the city centre and on Váci út are usually the most expensive; rents are lower in the outer districts and in older buildings. The differences between the classes are explained in our guide to office building classes.

The Budapest market rents published by the large advisory firms are collected, with their source and period, on the Budapest office market page. Each building's advertised rent is on its own page, and you can search the offices for rent in Budapest by rent. Most buildings are advertised by their owner or developer, so you can discuss the rent with them directly.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to rent an office in Budapest?

It depends on the building's class, age and location. The advisory firms' published market rents are on the Budapest office market page, and each building's rent is on its own page.

What does office rent include?

Only the use of the leased space. The service charge, parking, your own consumption and usually VAT come on top.

What is the service charge?

The charge for the building's shared costs, such as cleaning, security and maintenance. It is charged per square metre per month and varies from building to building.

How does the rent calculator work?

On an office building's page you give your headcount, layout and support rooms. The calculator works out the space you need and the monthly cost at that building's rates.

Is VAT charged on office rent?

Rents are usually quoted without VAT. Letting property in Hungary is exempt from VAT by default, but the landlord can opt to charge it, so ask whether VAT is added to the offer.