Before Signing a Gurgaon Office Lease: Due Diligence for Overseas Companies

Confirm who is leasing what

Verify ownership or authority to lease, the exact premises, usable and chargeable area definitions, parking rights and the documents supporting the transaction. Have Indian counsel review title and lease documentation appropriate to the property.

Model the full commercial package

Compare base rent, common-area maintenance, deposit, escalation, parking, fit-out period, taxes where applicable, utilities and restoration. Use one spreadsheet and identical assumptions across shortlisted properties.

Read the lock-in and exit clauses carefully

The difference between lease term, lock-in, notice period and termination rights can be commercially significant. Understand assignment, subletting, expansion, contraction and what happens if the India plan changes.

Inspect operational resilience

Review power backup, HVAC operating hours, fire and life safety, lifts, access control, telecom availability, water, parking and emergency procedures. Request supporting documentation where a claim is material to business continuity.

Coordinate the lease with entity timing

A foreign company’s India structure, signing authority, banking and incorporation timetable can affect how and when a lease is executed. Coordinate property, legal, tax and corporate workstreams before committing to deadlines or deposits.

Align the lease with the hiring curve

The first office does not need to solve every future space requirement. Model headcount by quarter, expected attendance and the point at which additional space would be required. Then compare expansion rights, adjacent availability and flexible alternatives. Taking too much space early can lock capital into an assumption; taking too little without expansion options can create disruption soon after launch.

Make technical diligence part of commercial diligence

Internet carrier availability, power resilience, HVAC hours, fire systems, access control and fit-out constraints can affect both cost and launch timing. Bring the relevant IT, facilities or project specialists into the review before terms are final. A lease negotiated without technical input can leave the company paying to solve limitations that were visible before signature.

Create a closing checklist

Before execution, reconcile the final lease against the approved commercial term sheet and legal comments. Confirm entity name and signing authority, premises description, parking, deposit, commencement, fit-out period, escalation, maintenance, lock-in, notice, restoration and handover requirements. Keep the supporting property and authority documents with the executed agreement so future finance or operations teams can understand the basis of the commitment.

Keep the business case beside the lease draft

Lease negotiations can become highly detailed, and teams sometimes lose sight of the assumptions that justified the property in the first place. Keep the approved headcount plan, occupation date, fit-out budget, expansion expectation and critical building requirements beside the legal mark-up. If a negotiated change affects one of those assumptions, the business owner should see it before execution.

This is also useful when several advisers are involved. Property, legal, finance, IT and facilities teams may each focus on different risks. A shared decision sheet can record which issues are closed, which are accepted and which still need a commercial decision from leadership.

Plan the handover before signing

Define what must be delivered at possession: access, meters, systems, drawings, keys, approvals, condition records and any agreed landlord works. Recording the expected handover in advance reduces ambiguity when the project shifts from negotiation to fit-out and occupation.