In India, coworking spaces are becoming popular primarily because of the emergence of new startups and entrepreneurs. Every new business faces some financial challenges in its initial phase.
Coworking spaces are the best solution when it comes to affordable workspaces that help new entrepreneurs save a lot of money. The concept of coworking has gained popularity because many freelancers, remote workers, part-time workers and entrepreneurs began looking for more social interaction and networking opportunities.
One of the major elements to focus on is the coworking agreement that is signed between a coworking space provider and a coworking member. If you own a coworking space and cannot afford to hire a legal agent to draft the coworking agreement, you can go with a personalised legal agreement as per the convenience of both parties. But it is only possible to draft a good agreement document if you are aware of what goes into a good coworking agreement, right?
In this article, we are focusing on the list of essentials that are necessary to produce a simple yet professional agreement that best caters to the requirements of a coworking space as well as the coworking member.
Following are the top 6 essentials to a good coworking space agreement-
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Universal Contract
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Monthly Payment
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Benefits of the Community
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Policies of the premises
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Insurance
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Breakaway
1. Universal Contract
From a designer to an entrepreneur, remote worker, and freelancer, anyone can require a coworking space. They might lease the space for the long term or short term depending on the duration of their projects. So, the agreements should be made in favour of all types of working professionals requesting access to your coworking space.
Now, it is important to know that there are two ways, either you make a service agreement or a lease agreement. The best is to make a service agreement because it gives access to the coworking space as a service. The users are allowed to use the amenities and space for their business. Lease agreements have some restrictions, unlike service agreements. Also, make sure to use simple words instead of legal jargons so that everyone can understand the agreement clearly without any doubt.
2. Monthly Payment
The very important thing is to include clauses related to the monthly payments. The agreement must include all monthly payments that are to be paid for varied services to the coworking space. From fees for standard recurring services and additional services to renewal fees, the penalty for late payment of fees and security deposit, every payment must be stated very clearly.
For the smallest service like video conferencing equipment or wifi connectivity you provide, put it in the agreement and mention the price you charge for them. Be as transparent as you can be in terms of all the prices of every service. You might want to change the price after some time, so it should be clearly mentioned in the contract. You must give an approximate figure on how much and when the prices are going to change.
3. Benefit of the Community
The establishment of coworking spaces is based on the idea of building a community of like-minded people. So, the agreement should be drafted in a way that benefits all the community members who are sharing the same coworking space. All the services should be available to every coworker equally in a way that benefits his/her business.
The agreement should not have any demand that clashes with the interests of the community members in any way. It is very important for coworking space providers to respect the rights, interests, and work ethics of the community members while drafting the agreement. Do not forget to state that it is the duty of all community members to respect their fellow members. Make sure that there is no clash of interests while working in the same space.
4. Policies of the Premises
When you run a coworking space where a lot of people from diverse backgrounds work together, it is important to set some do’s and don’ts for everyone. A coworking space deals with people from different types of businesses having varied client bases and work ethics. It is your duty as a coworking space provider to set rules related to smoking, pets, alcohol, children and parking, etc.
As a coworking space provider, it is your responsibility to prevent any sort of illegal activities and take immediate action in case any such activity happens. For example- threatening behavior, harassment, bullying, robbery, stalking, etc. Anyone who violates the rules of the coworking space mentioned in the agreement should not be allowed to enter the premises ever again. It is the best for your reputation as well as for the safety of fellow members.
5. Insurance
As a space provider, you would want to ensure only the assets you own in the space. It should be the member’s responsibility to get the insurance done for the assets they brought in the coworking space. All of this should be clearly mentioned in the coworking agreement for avoiding any future conflicts between the facility provider and the client.
This clause has to be there in the agreement because nobody can control a theft, natural disaster, electrical surge or any other mishappening incident. Another great idea would be to recommend clients to purchase rental insurance or tenant’s insurance so that it covers them and their assets.
6. Breakaway/Termination
It is always better to terminate a contract when nothing works out as planned. And since it is a service agreement, it is easier to terminate it than a lease agreement. If any coworker wants to terminate their contract due to lack of satisfaction with your services, the agreement must have the terms and conditions for the same when that happens.
It should also mention the lock-in period, notice period and treatment of deposit etc. The service agreement is flexible and makes the termination hassle-free due to its unilateral nature. It should also state the preconditions of returning the space to the coworking head. Don’t forget any of the aforementioned issues to include in the contract. It is the best way to terminate the agreement between both parties.
Conclusion
We advise all the coworking owners to read the above-mentioned points very carefully to have an elementary understanding of the legal agreement document necessary for both the coworking facility as well as the coworking member. It is a very important document that a coworking owner has to sign. So, please understand that it is worth spending a good time, money, and effort on. In this fast-forward world, nobody likes to read a long agreement, but make sure you still mention each and everything in detail.
