Shared Office Agreement

'how to' guide

This ‘how-to’ guide is designed to do give those parties entering into a shared arrangement a brief rundown of what the agreement is all about, how it works and what it means because, let’s face it, there is a lot of legal documents out there that just don’t make any sense at all.

What is the point of this Agreement?

The Sharedspace Licence Agreement is designed to put down on paper the arrangement between the party who has decided to share part of their commercial space (this is who we call the ‘Licensor’) and the person who has decided to use part of this space for their business (this is who we call the ‘Licensee’). The Agreement sets out the key terms agreed to between the two parties such as where and what the shared space is, how long the sharing arrangement shall be for, how much it will cost the Licensee and various other rights and obligations that both parties agree to.

Who is this Agreement suitable for?

This license agreement is for those parties wishing to share a part of a commercial premise with those wishing to use part of that commercial space for their own business purpose. It may be entered into by a company or by an individual.

Legal Stuff

Sharedspace want to make the process of sharing commercial spaces as easy as possible, which is why we have put together this agreement. Sharedspace is not a law firm however and is not in the business of giving legal advice so we strongly advise seeking independent legal advice if there is anything in this document that you feel uneasy about or do not understand. If you do decide to go ahead and use our document, the parties acknowledge that Sharedspace takes no legal responsibility for any costs, loss or damages incurred as a result of using the agreement. This is an agreement between the Licensor and the Licensee, we are simply giving you with the tools to put it to paper.

You have the Freedom

The idea of this agreement is to allow the parties the freedom and option to amend, delete or include any additional clauses or information that is relevant to their circumstance. We have highlighted in the document the areas in yellow that either needs to be completed by the parties or where we think the parties might like to add their own arrangements. However, this agreement is just a guide, any clause in it can be changed to suit the arrangement between the parties because lets face it, every licence agreement is going to be different, you call the shots.

Important clauses description

Because lawyers like to make things confusing for everyone, we have put together a brief explanation of some of the clauses in the agreement that may be a little bit confusing or need further clarification.

Clause 1: Sets out where and what the shared space is and how it shall be used.
Clause 2: The crux of this is that the parties acknowledge they both agree to license the shared space.
Clause 3: There’s a difference between a lease and a licence, a lease gives the leassor rights and an interest in the property under NZ law, this is not a lease.
Clause 5: The Licensee has a number of obligations to the Licensor, these are set out in this clause and include paying a fee (and possibly other costs as agreed to between the parties) and following the rules relating the use of the shared space.
Clause 6: Anything that either party comes across in the course of the shared space arrangement is and shall remains strictly confidential, no questions asked.
Clause 8: Outlines how the shared space is used – this can be tailored to the arrangement.
Clause 10: Basically, the Licensee must comply with everything set out in the Head Lease.
Clause 11: This outlines everything that will cause the licence agreement to be terminated.
Clause 12: The Licensee shall cover any costs the Licensor incurs if the Licensee breaks the rules.

Signing the Agreement

To make the agreement all official, or as they say in the legal world, ‘binding’ the document must first be dated at the top of the first page (don’t date the document before you sign it in case you don’t actually sign it on that date) and be signed by both parties on the designated execution page (no witnessis required). We advise that both parties sign the document at the same time and place (but if they don’t, make sure you only date the agreement after the second party has signed). Both parties should be given a copy (either by signing 2 originals or by making a photocopy of the original version) and it should be kept in a safe place so that it can be referred to if necessary.