BNPP RE European Handbook

RESEARCH

EuRopEAn REAl EStAtE HAndbookA Guide to doinG Business in europe

bnp pARibAS REAl EStAtE �

intRoduCtionThis handbook has been assembled by the BNP Paribas Real Estate’s

Large Corporate Coverage Team and the International Research

Team to provide you with a guide to occupying or investing in real

estate in Europe.

even with the creation of the european union, a myriad of different

languages, cultures and real estate practices exist today. Knowledge of

these differences is paramount for planning a successful real estate

strategy. Consideration of how local markets work is equally important

to successful implementation. this publication identifies the main

differences in each major european market and will help you establish

boundaries at the outset of a project.

For each of the countries reviewed in the handbook we provide an

overview on what occupiers and prospective inward investors are likely

to expect for:

typical Lease terms

Legal environment

occupancy Costs

Acquisition Costs

General Market practices

Bnp paribas real estate operates more than 60 offices across europe.

We are a european company and experts in our market place. our goal

is to provide our clients with the best local knowledge with the benefit

of an international perspective. if you have any comments or questions

about this handbook, or Bnp paribas real estate, please contact us.

•••••

Tim Harlow

senior director

Large Corporate Coverage

Bnp paribas real estate

90 Chancery Lane

London, WC2A 1eu

united Kingdom

tel: +44 20 7338 4155

Fax: +44 7747 758289

email:

[email protected]

Christophe Pineau

Head of research

Bnp paribas real estate

32, rue Jacques ibert

92300 Levallois-perret

France

tél: +33 (0)1 47 59 24 77

Fax: +33 (0)1 47 59 21 35

email:

[email protected]

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom


Austria .............................................................4Belgium ...........................................................9Bulgaria ........................................................14Cyprus ...........................................................20Czech republic ............................................24denmark .......................................................29estonia ..........................................................34Finland ..........................................................38France ...........................................................42Germany .......................................................47Greece ...........................................................53Hungary ........................................................58ireland ..........................................................62italy ...............................................................67Latvia ............................................................72Lithuania .......................................................76Luxembourg .................................................80netherlands ................................................84

ContEntSnorway .........................................................89poland ...........................................................93portugal ........................................................98romania ..................................................... 103russia ......................................................... 108serbia ......................................................... 112slovakia ......................................................116spain .......................................................... 120sweden ...................................................... 125switzerland .............................................. 130turkey ........................................................ 135ukraine ...................................................... 140united Kingdom ....................................... 144

SuMMARYComparison of leasing costs ..................149Comparison of transactions costs ....... 151

AuStRiA

bElgiuM

bulgARiA

CYpRuS

CzECH REp

dEnMARk

EStoniA

FinlAnd

FRAnCE

gERMAnY

gREECE

HungARY

iRElAnd

itAlY

lAtviA

litHuAniA

luxEMbouRg

nEtHERlAndS

noRwAY

polAnd

poRtugAl

RoMAniA

RuSSiA

SERbiA

SlovAkiA

SpAin

SwEdEn

SwitzERlAnd

tuRkEY

ukRAinE

unitEd kingdoM

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Country Statistics

population (thousands) 8,282

surface area (km²) 84,000

density (per km²) 99

Local currency euro

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009

GDP (PPP US$ billionS 2005 PriceS) 289 298 303 291

GDP AnnUAl % 3.3 3.0 1.7 -3.9

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) -3,049 -736 -6,503 -6,356

lAboUr force (millionS) 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.6

UnemPloyment rAte % 4.7 4.4 3.8 4.7

inflAtion rAte AnnUAl % 1.7 2.2 3.2 0.4

AverAGe reAl WAGeS AnnUAl % 1.0 0.2 -0.1 0.6

GDP Per heAD ($ At PPP) 36,054 37,492 38,810 37,360

lenDinG intereSt rAte 4.2 5.1 5.6 5.4

exchAnGe rAte to US$ 0.7964 0.7306 0.6803 0.7533

Major Cities

City Core population

Vienna 1,539,848

salzburg 143,973

innsbruck 118,112

Graz 237,810

Linz 203,044

sources: economist intelligence unit, oeCd, eurostat, un statistics division


AuStRiAVienna

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Austria

Political

Austria is a democratic federal republic of nine state

governments and a ceremonial president as head of

state. the Austrian parliament, Bundesversammlung,

is bicameral and consists of the Federal Council (the

Bundesrat) and the national Council. the president

is elected for a six-year term.

Legal Structure

the legal structure is a civil law system. the highest

courts in Austria are the Constitutional Courts. the

Administrative Court handles bureaucratic disputes

and the supreme Court deals with civil and criminal

cases.

Hours of business

the main business hours are Monday to thursday

07:30am – 18:30pm with Friday seeing many

businesses close at 15:00pm.

Visas

Austria is a member of the schengen area

agreement. Holders of an eeA (eu Member states,

iceland, Liechtenstein and norway) or swiss

passport do not require a visa. nationals from eu-

countries as well as switzerland and Liechtenstein

may remain for an unlimited time. Citizens of the

united states of America do not require a visa for

entry. A residence permit is required if intending to

stay for a period exceeding 6 months.

Transport

the main international airport is Wien-schwechat

(www.viennaairport.com) in Vienna with other

international airports are in Graz, innsbruck,

Klagenfurt, Linz and salzburg.

Austria has an extensive public transport network of

trains, trams and buses. travel details can be

obtained from the national rail network, ÖBB

Austrian Federal railways (www.oebb.at).

International Dialling code

the country code is + 43

Greenwich Mean time +1 hour

eastern standard time + 6 hours

Invest in Austria

Further country information can be obtained from

the invest in Austria bureau: (www.aba.gv.at)


AuStRiA

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Austria

Typical Lease Terms

Legislation: the law that governs

leases is based on the rent Act

(“Mietrechtsgesetz (MrG)”).

Lease Length: terms are either for

a limited number of years

(Befristet) or for an indefinite

period of time (unbefristet). Both

types are possible and can be

agreed on any building. in cases of

buildings constructed prior to 1967

the lease must be “unbefristet”,

even if the parties would rather

agree a limited lease. Between

3 and 7 year leases are typical in

Austria. in cases of “unbefristet”

leases, the tenant will agree a

“Kundigungsverzicht” which is a

fixed period of time in which the

tenant is bound to the lease.

Rent Escalation/Rent Review:

rent in Austrian leases is linked to

the consumer price index, and will

be increased either annually or

whenever the index has increased

by, for example, more than 5%.

rent increases can sometimes be

pre determined in leases. rent

reviews are uncommon, but are

being increasingly used in modern

office buildings with leases of 10

years or more.

AuStRiAGuarantee and Security Deposit:

Landlords usually require

information from prospective

tenants such as a credit rating.

either a deposit of 3 months gross

rent or a bank guarantee is

necessary to complete the lease.

Rights of Renewal: unless an

option to renew was previously

agreed, leases will terminate at

the date of expiry, and must be

renegotiated. if an option to

renew was agreed, then the

current lease terms and current

rent will typically continue for the

new lease.

Break Options and Terminations:

in “unbefristet” leases the tenant

has full security of tenure. the

landlord cannot terminate the

lease except in cases of the tenant

being in breach of the lease. Break

options are negotiable or some

lease agreements allow for the

premature exit of a lease under

the condition of a penalty. in most

cases the penalty for early lease

termination is subject to

negotiation and depends on

current market conditions.

Tenant and Landlord Obligations:

normally the landlord is

responsible for building

maintenance, structural repairs,

insurance, and technical

installations and the tenant is

responsible for maintenance and

insurance within the premises.

Subletting: the tenant is not

permitted to sublet the premises

without written consent from the

landlord, or unless it has been

otherwise authorized in the lease.

the landlord is not obliged to

accept the subtenant, but in

practice if the subtenant’s

covenant is good, then the sublet

will generally be accepted.


Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Austria

AuStRiALegal Environment Concerning

Brokerage Law

Austrian brokerage law is

governed by the innung and

Maklergesetz which states that

companies where agents are

working must have a property

licence. An agent must prove

“Verdienstlichkeit” in order to

receive a fee. in order to fulfil

“Verdienstlichkeit” the agent must

have at least made a written offer

and inspected the property with

the tenant. sometimes this

requirement becomes an issue if

the local management

unknowingly starts viewing

properties with agents that are

different from those instructed by

head office. this may result in the

tenant having to pay multiple

brokerage fees.

in order to avoid this situation the

real estate department of the

tenant must notify local

management not to go to market.

if a tenant has received offers but

has not viewed the property, they

can release their obligations to

pay a fee if they send back the

offers to the agent and formally

reject them.

Where another agent represents

the landlord, it is usual for the

total fee received from the

landlord and the tenant to be

split 50:50 between the two

agents. in some cases there is no

landlord fee and the agent

representing the tenant must

be prepared to give the landlord‘s

agent 50% of the fee he receives

from his client. this can cause a

problem in cases of tenant

representation instructions

as the client may be required to

pay a brokerage fee to the

landlord’s agent.

Occupancy Costs

the following charges are payable

by the tenant:

Rents: rents are quoted in euros

per square metre per month and

are paid monthly in advance.

Service Charge: Building service

charges are quoted in euros per

square metre per month and are

paid together with the rent

monthly in advance.

Local Property Tax: paid by the

landlord and invoiced back to the

tenant through the service

charge.

Acquisition Costs

typical acquisition costs that a

company will have to pay when

buying or leasing new premises

include:

Agents Fees

Leasing – Fees are usually 3

times the gross monthly rent

(including parking) for a lease

agreement of more than 3

years. For leases between 2 –

3 years the fee is reduced to 2

months’ gross rent and for

less than 2 years the fee is

reduced to 1 month gross

rent.

•

Freehold – Fees are paid by

the seller and are negotiable

but are typically 1.5–3% of the

purchase price.

subletting – same as leasing

above.

Property Transfer Tax (Stamp

Duty) (Grunderwerbsteuer):

For the purchase of a property,

the purchaser will be responsible

for paying a property transfer

tax of 3.5%, which is based

on the purchase price of the

property plus VAt. Also the

purchaser will be responsible

for paying a registration fee

(Grundbucheintragungsgebühr)

of 1.0%, which is based on the

purchase price of the property

plus VAt.

Value Added Tax: the VAt rate in

Austria is 20% and is payable on

all forms of transactions including

rent, building service charge,

agents’ fees, notary costs, finance

tax and property transfer tax.

General Market Practices

Basis of Measurement: there are

two standard measuring

practices:

Net Base Area or NGF (Netto

Geschossfläche). this is the most

commonly used area calculation

and is used for calculating the

rent. nGF includes main usable

space, ancillary space such as

toilets, kitchens, separating walls,

and circulation space. Areas used

for technical use, structural walls

and elevators are excluded.

•

•


Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Austria

AuStRiAGross Base Area or BGF (Brutto

Geschossfläche). this area is

measured from internal wall to

internal wall and includes all the

gross area within.

Fit Out/Reinstatement/

Dilapidations: new office

developments generally include

raised floors, carpeting and

partitioning as a standard with

costs borne by the landlord.

upgrading space to full air

conditioning is the responsibility

of the incoming tenant as only a

top cooling/fan pipe system is

normally installed in new

buildings. When letting second

generation space, the landlord

will assume the costs of installing

partitioning according to a space

plan provided by the tenant.

When vacating premises, the

tenant is responsible for

reinstating the space to the

original condition of the premises.

tenant improvements that were

undertaken during occupancy

cannot be sold to the landlord

unless otherwise stipulated in

the lease.

Use of Space: Cellular and open

plan space are both common.

the use and density of space must

be in accordance with the

“Arbeitsinspektorat”. these

guidelines govern issues such as

the distance from natural light,

position of a desk, position of a pC

on the desk and must be taken

into account when drafting a

workspace plan.

Holidays

there are certain times of the

year when the speed of

transactions is significantly

reduced due to holidays. in May

there are 4 bank holidays,

resulting in very short working

weeks. August and January tend to

generally be the main holiday

periods.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank natalia

trihob and richard Lemon of

dr Max Huber & partners for

assistance in the preparation of

this country review.


Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Austria

Country Statistics




Local currency euro

Economic Indicators

Major Cities


Brussels (Bruxelles) 960,324

Antwerp 467,875

Ghent 230,446

Charleroi 206,928

Liège 195,201


2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 3.0 2.6 1.0 -4.5

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) 7,087 17,122 34,527 40,548









bElgiuM Brussels

Austria

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Belgium

Political

Belgium is a federal parliamentary democracy with a

hereditary constitutional monarchy as head of state.

Belgium is split into three administrative regions:

Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels that have a large

degree of autonomy over their own affairs. the

federal government is responsible for defence,

foreign affairs, justice and the national budget.the

parliament is bicameral and consists of a senate and

Chamber of deputies.

Legal

Belgium’s legal system is based on civil law system

but is influenced by english constitutional theory.

there are 5 levels of justice: Canton (225 courts),

district (27 courts), provinces and Brussels

(11 courts), courts of appeal (5 courts), and the

supreme Court of Justice which is the highest court

in Belgium and deals mainly with appeals.

Hours of business

the main business hours are Monday to Friday

08:30am – 18:00pm

Visas

Belgium is a member of the schengen area









Transport

the main international airport is Brussels

international Airport (www.brusselsairport.be) in

Zaventem with other regional airports in Brussels

south, Antwerp, Liege and ostend.

Belgium is a railway hub for europe having a

terminal for the eurostar service (www.eurotunnel.

com) to France and the uK plus links to other

european rail networks. travel details can be

obtained from the national rail network, snCB/

nMBs (www.b-rail.be).

Bus and tram information can be obtained for

Brussels from MiVB/stiB (www.brussels.irisnet.be),

for Wallonia from teC (www.tec-wl.be) and for

Flanders from de Lijn (www.delijn.be)


the country code is + 32.

Coordinated universal time (utC) + 1 hour


Invest in Belgium


the invest in Belgium bureau:

http://invest.belgium.be

bnp pARibAS REAl EStAtE 10

bElgiuM

Austria

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Belgium

bElgiuMTypical Lease Terms

Legislation: Leases are governed

by local Belgian Civil Code. under

the tax law, all lease contracts

have to be registered with the

Ministry of Finance within 4

months following the signature of

the lease agreements. As a result

three copies are normally signed,

one for each party and one for the

administration. Failure to register

means penalties can be claimed

by the tax administration and,

any third party, such as a new

owner who has acquired the

building, will not be bound by

the lease agreement. Both

landlord and tenant have a joint

responsibility for registration

of the lease. the lease contract

has to be registered in one of the

3 national languages (Flemish,

French or German).

Lease Length: the standard term

for regular occupation of leased

premises is 9 years, each party

having the right to terminate the

lease agreement at the end of

three-year period by giving six

months notice. Leases can be

granted for longer or shorter

periods, although anything over

nine years has to be authenticated

and passed by a notary.


rent is adjusted annually based

on the “health” index

(gezondheidsindex/indice santé).

For pre-letting contracts “pre-

indexation” is often used.

Guarantee or Security Deposit:



tenants such as banking details or

access to company information.

normally it is stipulated in the

lease that a rental guarantee

(usually through a bank guarantee

or security deposit) is required.

Rights of Renewal: on lease

expiry the tenant has no security

of tenure. typically it is stipulated

in the lease contract that there is

no automatic renewal of the lease

after the expiry date.


Many leases contain break

options, usually after 3 years

and/or 6 years, although this is

only market convention. these

breaks may be for either or both

parties. one party may not

terminate the lease prior to the

break option without the prior

approval from the other party.


under the Civil Code the landlord

is responsible for major repairs

and the replacement of major

installations such as HVAC and

lifts. the tenant is responsible for

small repairs and maintenance

works. Among other things, the

tenant shall regularly maintain

the interior and outside

paintwork, sanitary equipment,

covering, pavements, electrical

devices, doors and windows and

their locks. taxes and insurance

are paid by the landlord and re-

invoiced to the tenant.

Subletting: the tenant may

assign or sublet the lease unless

forbidden by the terms of the

lease. nevertheless, most of lease

agreements mention that is not

permitted to sublet or assign the

lease without written consent

from the landlord.


Austria

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Belgium

Legal Environment Concerning

Brokerage Law

individual real estate brokers

need to be registered with the

Belgian institute for real estate

(BiV/ipi) to practice in Belgium.

every company acting as broker

should be legally represented by

at least one managing director

listed with the Belgian institute

for real estate.

real estate brokers are selected

by either the landlord or the

tenant and will sign an agreement

to represent their client in a

transaction. it is common practice

in Belgium that real estate

brokers are appointed and paid

by landlord. it is considered a

conflict of interest if an agent

represents both the landlord

and the client, and the agent is

obligated to indicate if a conflict

of interest exists.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:


per square metre per annum and

are typically paid quarterly in

advance.

Service Charge: service charges

are quoted in euros per square

metre per annum and are paid

together with the rent quarterly

in advance, based on a provisional

amount, which is adjusted at least

once a year once the actual cost is

known. All private costs (such

water and electricity supply) are

directly charged to the tenant.

Local Property Tax (Onroerende

Voorheffing/Précompte

Immobilier) and Regional Taxes:

these taxes are paid by the

landlord on an annual basis and

re-invoiced to the tenant.

Other Taxes/Costs: in some cases

other taxes such as office tax, tax

per workstation, or tax on energy

can be levied. these are local

taxes and depend on the

municipality where the property

is located.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees

Leasing – Fees are negotiable

with the usual rate being 15%

of the first year’s gross rent.

Fees are usually paid by the

landlord but could be paid by

the tenant depending on

whom the agent represents.

Freehold – Fees are usually

paid by the seller and are

negotiated on a case-by-case

basis depending on the

purchase price. Fees are

usually between 1-3% of the

agreed purchase price.

•

•

subletting – Fees are

negotiable and can be based

on a percentage of the first

year’s gross annual rent

(typically 15%) or on a

percentage of the savings

made through the early

surrender.

Property Transfer Tax

(Registration Tax): the purchaser

of a property is responsible for

paying a registration tax in the

region of acquisition. the

registration tax is different for

each region. in Flanders the

registration tax is 10%. in some

circumstances, 60% of the

registration costs may be

recovered if the property is sold

within 2 years of buying it. in

Wallonia and Brussels the

registration tax is 12.5%.

developers often operate under

trader or “marchand de bien”

status (i.e. company or individual

whose business mainly consists of

buying and selling real estate, and

who is registered as such) with

reduced registration tax rate.

one of the common ways to avoid

registration tax is to acquire the

real estate through the purchase

of company shares, which carries

added advantages in that capital

gains on shares are generally tax

exempt for individuals as well as

companies. Another way to reduce

the registration tax is not to buy

the real estate but rather opt for a

long term lease (for a duration of

•

bElgiuM

bnp pARibAS REAl EStAtE 1�

Austria

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Belgium

minimum 27 years and maximum

99 years) or for a right to build (of

maximum 50 years) on the real

estate. the granting of such rights

is subject to a registration tax rate

of 0.2% calculated on the total

amount of the rents and charges

for the duration of the contract.

Value Added Tax: VAt in Belgium is

currently at 21%. rent payments

are not subject to VAt. the renting

of parking space where the tenant

has his main occupation elsewhere

is considered as the provision of a

service rather than a letting and is

therefore in the VAt regime. the

renting of warehouses where

offices constitute less than 10

percent of the total space is also

subject to VAt.

VAt is payable on acquisition

of new building and construction

for new commercial property

(lesser rates exist for residential)

as well as professional fees and

letting fees. on the acquisition of

land no VAt is paid but

registration tax is payable.


Basis of Measurement: two

methods, which are very similar,

are used in Belgium to define the

floor area. the first method is

according the uGeB-uLeB

(Belgian union of Chartered

surveyors) and the second

method is according the BACs

(Belgian/Luxembourg Association

of Chartered surveyor).

uGeB-uLeB – For the

measurement of office

buildings, the gross area is

used and a proportion of the

common general area of the

building (entrance hall, lobby

area, elevators) is included.

the gross area is measured

from the exterior of the

windows and the axis of

separating walls.

BACs – uses two main

definitions, which are gross

external area (GeA) and the

gross area (GA). GeA is the

area in the building measured

externally at each floor level.

GeA is applied for the

measurement of industrial

buildings and warehouses and

residential buildings. GA is the

area of the building measured

from the midpoint of the

windows to the midpoint of

the opposite wall for each

floor level. GA is applied for

the measurement of offices

and is also the basis for

measurement commonly used

for the calculation of the rent

and service charges.


Dilapidations: inventories of

fixtures upon entry and upon

vacation of the premises, plus

movable items, are drawn up and

permanently binding for both

parties. office buildings usually

include carpet, suspended ceilings,

lighting, heating and electrical

servicing. partitioning and

•

•

upgrading of the office space is at

a cost to the tenant. All works,

installations and additions that

the tenant may undertake on the

premises during the lease require

prior approval from the landlord.

they shall at the end of the lease

or at the end of renewal period,

belong to the landlord unless the

latter demands the return of the

premises to their original state.

restoration to the original state is

at the tenant’s cost.

Use of Space: premises in Belgium

is primarily cellular office

construction but open plan office

premises are increasingly favored.

Holidays

there are no times of the year in

which the speed of transactions

are reduced due to holidays. in

the period between Christmas

and new Year some offices are

closed but generally firms will

remain open all year round.

bElgiuM


Austria

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Belgium

Country Statistics


surface area (km²) 11,001.9

density (per km²) 69.4

Local currency Leva

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 6.3 6.2 6.0 -3.8





AverAGe reAl WAGeS AnnUAl % 2.1 11.3 9.2 -0.5




Major Cities


sofia 1,138,629

plovdiv 340,142

Varna 299,492

Burgas 195,098

rousse (ruse) 166,885



bulgARiAsofia

Austria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Belgium

Bulgaria

Political Structure

Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic with a directly

elected president as head of state who serves a

5 year term. the primary legislative body, the

parliament, is unicameral and called the national

Assembly (narodno sobranie).

Legal Structure

Bulgaria’s civil and criminal law is based on roman

civil law although the judiciary is independent and

has equal status with the legislative and executive

branches. the judicial system is managed by the

supreme Judicial Council and consists of regional

courts, district courts, and the supreme courts of

cassation for civil and criminal appeals

Hours of Business

Businesses usually open around 08:30am and close

around 18:00pm.

Visas

Bulgaria is now an eu member so holders of an eeA

(eu Member states, iceland, Liechtenstein and

norway) or swiss passport do not require a visa.

nationals from eu-countries as well as switzerland

and Liechtenstein may remain for an unlimited time.

Citizens of the united states of America do not

require a visa for entry. Foreigners who stay or

intend to stay longer than six months may acquire

permission for temporary residence for up to one

year which may also be extended. Any foreigner

wishing to stay on the basis of an employment

contract must acquire a work permit from the local

Labour office.

Transport

sofia airport (www.sofia-airport.bg) is the main

international airport and located about nine

kilometres from the city centre. there are no direct

rail services between Bulgaria and Western europe

but there are daily services to Belgrade, Bucharest

and Budapest, istanbul and thessalonika.

there is over 6,000 km of railways of generally good

quality connecting all the main towns. information

on travelling by rail in Bulgaria can be obtained from

the Bulgarian state railways BdZ eAd website

(http://bdz.creato.biz)

International Dialling Code


Coordinated universal time (utC) + 2 hours


Invest in Bureau


the invest Bulgaria bureau:

www.investbulgaria.com


bulgARiA

Austria

Belgium

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Bulgaria

bulgARiATypical Lease Terms


by the Bulgarian Law on

obligations and Contracts/state

Gazette issue no 275/1950/. there

is no special law concerning

commercial leases.

Lease Length: no minimum initial

lease length is legally prescribed

but the maximum lease length is

10 years. if a longer term is

negotiated in a contract, the

extension clause is legally

considered null and void with the

law only recognising the first ten

10 years. in practice negotiation of

10 years lease is difficult as most

landlords do not feel secure and

prefer leasing for a shorter period.



on the Harmonized index of

Consumer prices (HiCp) published

by the Bulgarian national statistic

institute. the basis of rent

escalation is freely negotiable and

in the past escalation using the

eurostAt index of consumer

prices was not uncommon.

However, over the last few years

the accepted norm is for

escalation is the Bulgarian HiCp

with a minimum of 10%. it is not

uncommon, especially for big

companies with mostly office

space, to have rental adjustments

after 5 years on the basis of a

market survey of rents.

Guarantee and Security Deposit:

Generally a deposit of 1 to 3

months gross rent is payable

upon the signing of the lease

contract.

Rights of Renewal: options to

renew can be negotiated between

the two parties. Lease contracts

agreed for a definite term may be

automatically renewed for an

indefinite period, if the tenant

continues to use the property

after the end of the lease and

there is no objection by the

landlord.


Break options and termination of

lease contracts for a definite term

have to be negotiated between

the parties along with

compensation. Lease contracts for

indefinite term may be terminated

by any of the parties with one

month pre-notice.

in case of transfer of the leased

property on part of the landlord

(sale, liquidation, foreclosure,

inheritance) the lease contract

shall be valid and binding the new

owner if it is registered in the real

estate register with the

recordation Agency. if the lease

contract is not registered but has a

notary authenticated date of

signing, it shall be valid and

binding on the new owner until

either the expiry date or one year

following the property transfer

date. if the lease contract is not

registered or notary authenticated,

it is valid and binding on the new

owner for an indefinite term and

can be terminated with one month

notice.


tenant obligations are for internal

repair and maintenance whilst

landlord obligations are for

external and structural repairs.

there are no standards for

insurance clauses so most lease

contracts do not deal with it. But

it is common, especially for big

landlords with mostly office

space, to oblige the tenant to

obtain full property insurance for

the premise.

Subletting: Full subletting is

allowed only with the written

consent of the landlord. such

consent may be given in general

form as a clause of the lease

contract. partial subletting is

allowed without consent of the

landlord unless the lease contract

explicitly prohibits it.


Austria

Belgium

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Bulgaria


Brokerage Law

there is no law or regulation of

the activities of real estate

brokers in Bulgaria. Law is under

preparation and it will introduce

licensing of the brokers based on

educational and professional

experience requirements.

unless the agent has signed

brokerage service agreement with

the client in advance, there is no

guarantee of payment by the

client if the latter signs a lease or

sale-purchase agreement for

property introduced by the agent.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:

Rents: rents are usually quoted in

euros per square metre per month

and are paid monthly in advance

either in eur or in BGL fixed rate

equivalent.


charges for commercial leases

vary between 1 to 3 euros per

square metre per month, and in

some cases like Malls it may

reach up to 6 euros per square

metre. usually service charges

are paid monthly in advance with

the rent. For residential property,

fixed service charge is applied

only for modern buildings or

complexes that have

arrangements with a property

management company. For flats

in other residential buildings

service charge is not paid to the

landlord but there is a common

space maintenance fee collected

by the building chairperson that is

substantially lower.

Local Property Taxes and

Municipal Garbage Fee: the lease

contracts usually commit tenants

to paying the garbage fee for the

property. payment of the local

property tax by the tenant is rare.

the property tax and the garbage

fee are determined by the

municipal council of the

respective city at the end of

February each fiscal year. the

property tax and the garbage fee

are charged for non-residential

property of companies upon the

accounting value of the property.

For the property of individuals

and for residential property of

companies, the charge is based on

the tax assessment value of the

property. that is determined by

the municipal body on a yearly

basis and is lower than market

value. For 2009 the property tax

in sofia is 1.6 per thousand.

there are three ways of

determining the garbage fee for

non-residential property of

companies: (i) on the basis of the

number of garbage collection bins

used; (ii) through direct

negotiation with a company

contracted for garbage collection

and, (iii) on the basis of the tax

assessment value of the property..

For year 2009 the garbage fee for

non-residential property of

companies in sofia 12 per

thousand and for property of

individuals and for residential

property of companies – 4 per

thousand.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees

Leasing – Fees are usually

1 month’s net rent plus VAt.


between 2.5% and 3%. For

reasonably large transactions

lower fees are negotiated,

depending on the size of the

property involved, the

particular market

characteristics at the time

etc., but even in these cases

fees below 1% of the

transaction value are

uncommon.

sublease – same as leasing

fees above.

•

•

•

bulgARiA


Austria

Belgium

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Bulgaria

it should be noted that it is

not uncommon in Bulgaria for

agents to get paid by both parties

in a transaction.

Property Transfer Tax: For

purchases of property, the

transfer tax depends on the

municipality and ranges between

1.3% to 2.6% of the purchase price

or the tax assessment value of the

property exchanged, whichever is

higher. the exact percentage is

determined by the municipal

council of the respective city. For

sofia the property transfer tax for

year 2009 is 2.5%. the law states

that purchaser is liable for the

property transfer tax unless other

terms are negotiated between the

parties. it is common for this tax

as well as the other expenses for

the transfer to be shared between

the parties.

if the tax assessment value of the

property is substantially lower

than its market price, it is usual for

schemes that avoid payment of the

property transfer tax on the real

price to be applied. For

transactions between individuals

and for sale of property from

construction companies to

individuals, the prices defined in

the notary deeds for the property

transfer are usually equal to the

tax assessment value. in such

cases other agreements or legal

schemas are used for protection of

the parties with respect to the

payment of the real price. it is not

uncommon for owners to hide the

real price, not just for the property

transfer expenses but also for

avoiding payment of income tax.

VAT: VAt in Bulgaria is currently

20%. VAt is applicable on regulated

land owned by legal entities

registered for VAt. rents for

residential needs are excluded of

VAt. individuals, who offer

property for lease, do not accrue

VAt in case the income from leases

does not exceed BGL 50,000 per

year (circa eur 25,000).

Other Taxes/Costs: to finalise the

purchase of a property a notary

fee is paid, determined on a scale

based on the purchase price, but

not exceeding BGL 6000 (circa

euro 3,000). the other cost is the

fee for registration of the deal in

the real estate register with the

recordation Agency, which is 0.1%

on the purchase price. usually the

purchaser assumes these costs,

but it is common to be shared

between the parties.

there is also an obligatory

minimum of legal fee for

transactional assistance, which is

BGL 700 for the first BGL 100,000

of the purchase price and 0.1%

over the excess amount. Legal

due diligence fees are separate

and usually determined on

hourly bases.


Basis of Measurement: there is

no standard basis of

measurement in Bulgaria. For

leases, the premises are typically

measured based upon the built up

area stated on architectural plans

for planning approval. For

property purchases construction

companies imposed Gross Area as

basis of measurement, which

includes the built up area and the

proportional part of all common

space areas of the building, which

may reach even 30% of the built

up area of the premises.

bulgARiA


Austria

Belgium

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Bulgaria

bulgARiAFit Out/Reinstatement/

Dilapidations: the tenant is

typically responsible for all costs

associated with fit out. While the

tenant has a legal responsibility

to remove improvements from the

premises at the expiry of the

lease, in practice this is rarely

required as the majority of

landlords prefer the

improvements to remain. tenant

is responsible to repairing any

dilapidations, unless it is proven

that the damages are caused a

way that tenant may not be held

responsible by law or contract.

Use of Space: traditionally older

offices in Bulgaria have tended to

be constructed as cellular offices.

recently, in newer buildings,

offices are predominantly

open plan.

Holidays

there are two periods during

the year when the speed of

transactions are significantly

affected by holidays in August

and from Christmas till mid

January. part this is because the

real estate register with the

recordation Agency does not

provide the full range of services

over these periods.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank

Konstantinos Markogiannakis

and Anna nazou of danos &

Associates for their assistance in

the preparation of this country

review.


Austria

Belgium

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Cyprus

Bulgaria

Country Statistics

population (thousands) 772.549



Local currency euro

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 4.1 4.4 3.7 0.7

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) 975 1018 364 342




AverAGe reAl WAGeS AnnUAl % 3.4 1.0 1.1 2.8




Major Cities


nicosia 197,800

Limassol 157,600


bnp pARibAS REAl EStAtE �0

CYpRuSnicosia

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Cyprus

Political Structure

Cyprus is a presidential republic but since 1974

the country has been divided into a government

controlled south covering two thirds of the island

and a northern third controlled by a turkish Cypriot

government. the government of the republic of

Cyprus is the international recognised authority

and referred to here. the head of state is the

president who is directly elected to serve a five

year term. the legislature in Cyprus is known as

the House of representatives (Vouli Antiprosopon)

and is unicameral.

Legal Structure

Cyprus’ legal system is based on english common

law with influences from civil law. Civil and criminal

cases are heard in district courts with appeals heard

in the supreme Court. specific civil issues may be

heard in the rent Control tribunal, the industrial

disputes tribunal and the Family Court. Criminal

offences that warrant a sentence of more than 5

years are usually head in the Assize Courts.

Hours of Business

Businesses usually open around 08:30am and close

around 18:00pm.

Visas

Cyprus is now an eu member so holders of an

eeA (eu Member states, iceland, Liechtenstein

and norway) or swiss passport do not require

a visa. nationals from eu-countries as well as

switzerland and Liechtenstein may remain for an

unlimited time. Citizens of the united states of

America do not require a visa for entry. Foreigners

who stay or intend to stay longer than three months

must acquire a residency permit from the Civil

registry & Migration department.

Transport

Cyprus has two international airports Larnaca

international Airport and paphos international

Airport (www.cyprusairports.com.cy), located

5 kilometres and 10 kilometres from their

respective city centres.

Cyprus does not have a rail network so the majority

of transportation around the island is by air, private

bus, and car or by boat.





Invest in Bureau


the Cyprus investment promotion Agency:

www.cipa.org.cy


CYpRuS

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Cyprus

CYpRuSTypical Lease Terms

Legislation: tenancy Law of the

republic of Cyprus

Lease Length: General

commercial leases are 5 years

minimum although office leases

are usually between 2 to 5 years

long. residential leases are most

1-4 years and are negotiable.


residential rental amounts are

based on number of bedrooms

and the condition of premises.

With commercial properties the

rent is usually agreed at market

rate on a per square meter basis

per month. According to tenancy

Law, landlords cannot request

more than a 14% increase every

2 years.


the standard amount is a one

month rental, but other options are

available. For example if tenant is a

company, the landlord may request

the personal guarantee of a Cypriot

resident or a bank guarantee for an

agreed amount.

Rights of Renewal: the tenancy

becomes statutory after 2 years

of occupancy. the standard

period for renewal/termination is

2 months notice.


these are agreed between the

parties, usually with a penalty

amount.


the tenant is usually responsible

for internal repairs and the

landlord for structural works

and the maintenance of any

common areas.

Subletting: specifically prohibited

unless agreed by both parties.


Brokerage Law

real estate agents need to be

licensed and registered in Cyprus.

it is common practice that the

agent’s commission is paid by the

landlord. therefore if a landlord

accepts the services of an agent

and rental is agreed, he is

obligated to pay the commission.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:




Service Charge (Koinohrista):

Building service charges are

quoted in euros per month and


the rent. utility charges

(electricity, water, telephone) and

any charges related to common

areas of building are payable by

the tenant. Common charges are

billed according to square meters

occupied. Annual garbage fee as

imposed by the local Municipality

is payable by the tenant.

Local Property Taxes: payment is

the responsibility of the landlord.

bnp pARibAS REAl EStAtE ��

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Cyprus

Acquisition Costs

the tenant does not incur any

charges for rental of premises,

unless the tenant has hired the

services of an agent and a search/

find fee has been agreed.




include:

Agents Fees


1 month’s net rent for a 2 year

lease, if a longer lease period

then it is a percentage of the

annual rent; 6% on first year

rent, 3% on second year, and

1% on each year thereafter.

Freehold – 3% of purchase

price


fees above.

•

•

•

Property Transfer Tax: For the

purchase of a property the

purchaser will be responsible for

paying a property transfer tax of

3-8% on the declared purchase

price, to the Land registry of the

republic of Cyprus.

VAT: VAt in Cyprus is currently

15%. professional fees are subject

to VAt. However, it is not

applicable on the lease or sale of

commercial property.


offices in Cyprus have tended to



Basis of Measurement:

Measurement is based on actual

square meters and age/condition

of the total physical structure

of building.


Dilapidations: Fit out and

modifications of space are

at the tenant’s expense providing

the landlord is in agreement

with works.

Holidays

there is no particular period

during the year when the speed of


affected by holidays. peak holiday

periods tend to be during

midsummer (mid-August) and

between Christmas and new Year.

Acknowledgement






review.

CYpRuS


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Cyprus

Country Statistics




Local currency Koruna

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 6.8 6.0 3.2 -3.0









Major Cities


prague 1,193,270

Brno 384,727

ostrava 322,111

pizen 168,422

olomouc 103,372



CzECH REpubliCprague

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Czech Republic

Political Structure

the Czech republic is a parliamentary republic with

a president as head of state. the parliamentary

legislature is bicameral consisting of a chamber of

deputies and a senate. the Chamber of deputies

(poslanecka snemovna) is effectively a continuation

of the federal parliament of Czechoslovakia. the

president is elected by parliament and serves for

a five-year term.

Legal Structure

the legal system of the Czech republic is based on

civil law system but incorporates old Austro-

Hungarian legal codes. the Czech court system

consists of district, regional, and high courts. the

supreme Court is the highest court of appeal.

Hours of business


08:00am – 17:00pm.

Visas

the Czech republic is a member of the schengen

area agreement. Holders of an eeA (eu Member

states, iceland, Liechtenstein and norway) or swiss






stay for a period exceeding 3 months. Foreign

nationals whose stay in the Czech republic will

exceed 30 days are obliged to register within 30 days

on their arrival in the Czech republic with the Alien

and Border police.

Transport

the main international airport is prague Airport

(www.pragueairport.co.uk).

the Czech republic has an extensive rail and bus

system. travel details around prague can be

obtained from the transport operators for prague

(www.dpp.cz/en) and Czech republic

(http://jizdnirady.idnes.cz/vlakyautobusy/spojeni)





Invest in bureau


the invest in the Czech republic bureau:

www.czechinvest.org


CzECH REpubliC

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Czech Republic

CzECH REpubliCTypical Lease Terms


commercial leases is based on the

rent Act.

Lease Length: 5 year and longer

term leases are usual in Czech

republic for A-class offices. the

lower the standard of property is,

the higher the flexibility in terms

of lease length so certain B-class

projects can offer shorter leases.


typically rents are indexed

annually (upwards only) based on

the Consumer price index (HCpi

eu 25 published by eurostat) or


by a predetermined amount

specified in the lease. rent

increases can sometimes be

pre-determined in leases.


Landlords usually require a credit

rating or a deposit of 3 months

rent including VAt or a bank

guarantee to complete the lease.

some developers require a deposit

or bank guarantee equal to

6 months including VAt.

Rights of Renewal: if an option to

renew was not previously agreed

the lease will terminate and must

be renegotiated.


Break options are negotiable.

However, tenants should be aware

of notice periods as options will

expire and become null and void if

notice is not delivered on time.

some lease agreements allow for

the termination of the lease prior

to the break option under the

condition of a penalty, subject

to negotiations and current

market conditions.


the landlord is normally


maintenance, insurance, and

technical installations and the


maintenance and insurance

within the premises.

Subletting: the subletting of

premises is allowed but only with

the prior written consent of the

landlord. the landlord is not

required to approve the proposed

sublease but must give

reasonable grounds for denying

a sublease so in practice they are

generally accepted.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Czech Republic


Brokerage Law

there is no legal requirement to

have a license in order to trade as

an agent in the Czech republic.

each party typically pays their

respective agent. on occasion the

landlord’s agent may sometimes

earn a fee of half a month’s net

rent from the tenant or the

landlord. the tenant’s agent only

earns fees directly from the

tenant.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:


or us dollars per square metre

per month and are paid monthly

or quarterly in advance.


charges are quoted in euros or us

dollars per month or quarter and

are paid monthly or quarterly in

advance along with the rent.

sometimes service charges are

charged in the local currency.

Local Property Tax: paid directly

by the landlord and billed to the

tenant via the service charge.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees

Leasing – Fees are generally

2 months’ net rent.

Freehold – Fees, paid by the

seller, are negotiable but are

typically equal to 1.5–2.5% of

the purchase price.

subletting – subletting is the

same as leasing.


Duty): For the purchase of a

property a property transfer tax of

5% will be levied, based on the

purchase price of the property plus

VAt. the responsibilities of the

costs are usually negotiated and

very often the costs are split 50:50

between seller and purchaser.


the Czech republic is currently

22% and payable on all forms of

transactions including rent,

building service charge, agents

fees, notary costs, and property

transfer tax.

•

•

•




practices:

net Lettable Area or Building

owner’s and Manager’s

Association standard (BoMA).

this is the most commonly

used area calculation and is

used for calculating the rent.

BoMA includes main usable


toilets, kitchens, separating

walls, and circulation space.

Areas used for technical use,

structural walls and elevators

are excluded. A “gross-up”

factor of 5–12% may be

applied to the net Lettable

Area, particularly if the

building is new.

Gross Base Area or BGF

(Brutto Geschossfläche). this

area is measured from

internal wall to internal wall

and includes all the gross

area within.

•

•

CzECH REpubliC


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Czech Republic





partitioning as a standard.


conditioning is the responsibility

of the tenant. When letting

second generation space, the

landlord will assume the costs of

installing partitioning according

to a space plan provided by the

tenant. When vacating premises,

the tenant is responsible for


condition in which they had first

occupied the space, allowing for

standard wear and tear. tenant

improvements that were



unless otherwise stipulated in the

lease. the landlord has the option

of leaving the premises in their

current condition.



Holidays



transactions is reduced due to

holidays. August and January tend

to generally be the main holiday

period.

Acknowledgement






CzECH REpubliC


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Czech Republic

Country Statistics




Local currency Kroner

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 3.3 1.6 -1.1 -3.5

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) -4,857 -5,199 -3,666 -1,627








Major Cities


Copenhagen 499,148

Aarhus 286,668

odense 183,691

Aalborg 161,661



dEnMARk

Copenhagen

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Denmark

Legal Structure

denmarks’ judiciary is a civil law system.

denmark’s court system comprises 100 local

courts, two high courts, several special courts

(that deal with arbitration and maritime issues)

and a supreme court for appeals not resolved by

the two high courts.

Hours of Business


around 08:00am – 17:00pm.

Visas

denmark is a member of the schengen area









Transport

the main international airport is Copenhagen Airport

(www.cph.dk), which is also the main hub for

northern europe. denmark has three other

international airports at Århus, Aalborg and Billund.

Greater Copenhagen is served by the “s” train under/

overground suburban rail system. denmark’s rail

service connects Copenhagen with the towns of

Jutland, Funen and Zealand. danske statsbaner –

danish state railways (dsB) – runs the service and

travel information can be found at their website

www.dsb.dk/rejseplan/bin/query.exe/en.





Invest in Bureau


the invest in denmark bureau:

www.investindk.com


dEnMARk

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Denmark

dEnMARkTypical Lease Terms

Legislation: the legislation that

governs commercial leases

(erhverslejeloven) is new and

came into effect in 2000.

Lease Length: typically the term

of a lease is not specified and is

expected to be ongoing. Generally

the tenant and the landlord will

agree to an interminable period

whereby the lease will be

guaranteed for that period of

time, for example, in new

buildings the tenant is guaranteed

a 10 year lease with the

possibility of early termination by

the tenant after 5 years.


rents are indexed annually to the

Consumer price index but may

also be adjusted automatically

whenever the Cpi changes by a

predefined amount.





access to company information. A

bank guarantee of 6 months gross

rent is necessary to complete the

lease although a deposit may

sometimes be paid.

Rights of Renewal: tenants do

not have a legal right to renew

the lease. As most leases in

denmark are for an unspecified

length of time it is uncommon for

leases to contain a right to renew

the lease. For leases that have

specified terms the lease may be

renewed after renegotiation with

the landlord.


there is a possibility to break/

renegotiate the agreement if this

clause is included in the

agreement. in situations where

the lease term is not specified,

the lease term is considered to be

ongoing until either the tenant or

landlord gives notice of

termination. the landlord is not

allowed to terminate an ongoing

lease unless the tenant has not

performed its covenants. if the

landlord terminates the lease

prematurely he is liable for

compensation to the tenant.


Maintenance and insurance

obligations are not regulated by

law and can be divided freely

between the tenant and landlord.








Subletting: the tenant has, by

law, no right to transfer the lease

agreement or sublease space

without the landlord’s consent.

Generally subletting is allowed

with the prior written consent of

the landlord.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Denmark


Brokerage Law

A brokerage licence, which is

issued by the government, is only

required to conduct sales

transactions. typically brokers

represent the landlord, but

recently some corporations have

started to use consultants during

negotiations to protect their

interests. there are no limitations

to advice given by agent, on legal

or financial matters.

the common method for sales of

properties are options for selected

buyers to place an offer and

“closed bidding”. “open bidding”

sales are primarily used when a

public property is being sold. As

the name implies, all offers after

the deadline are openly known by

all interested parties.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:

Rents: rents are quoted in danish

Kroner (dKK) per square metre

per annum and are paid in

advance on a quarterly basis.


charges are quoted in danish

Kroner (dKK) per square metre

per annum and are paid in

advance on a quarterly basis

along with the rent. All service

charges must be agreed upon

separately in the lease agreement.

the tenant normally pays for

heating and electricity themselves

via separate agreements with

distributors (power company).

the landlord typically invoices

building insurance through the

service charge.


landlord directly but this is

typically invoiced to the tenant

through the service charge.

Acquisition Costs

typical acquisition costs that

a company will have to pay

when buying or leasing new

premises include:

Agents Fees


approximately 15 % of the first

year’s annual net rent. each

party typically pays the fee of

their contracted agent.


the seller and are negotiable

but are usually between 1 –

3% of the agreed purchase

price depending on

transactions size.

subletting – same as leasing.


Duty): during the purchase of a

property the purchaser will be

responsible to pay a transfer tax

equal to 0.6% of the agreed

purchase price. the payment of

the transfer tax on properties

located in Jutland is split between

buyer and seller.


denmark is 25% and is payable on

all forms of transactions including

rent, building service charges and

agents fees.

•

•

•

dEnMARk


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Denmark


Basis of Measurement: For office

premises, the typical method of

measurement is to measure from

the exterior of the building to the

midpoint of subdividing walls. the

area used to calculate rent will

also typically include a share of

common areas such as entrances,

staircases, elevators, and

corridors.


Dilapidations: premises are

typically built out to tenant

specifications and financed by the

landlord. the cost of the fit out is

charged to the tenant as

additional rent dependant on the

structure of the transaction. the

tenant’s obligation, to return the

premises to the condition it was

originally in when they took

possession of the premises. this is

dependant upon the structure of

the original transaction with the

landlord and can vary from

property to property.

Use of Space: the most common

form of office premises in denmark

is a mixed plan utilizing both

cellular offices and open areas.

Holidays

the peak holiday period in

denmark is during the summer

months, but July specifically is the

only time period where transaction

speed may be significantly slowed

due to holidays.

dEnMARk


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Denmark

Country Statistics




Local currency Kroon

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 10.4 6.3 -3.6 -13.0

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) 673 1,115 1,050 950








Major Cities


tallinn 396,010

tartu 101,483



EStoniAtallinn

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Estonia

Political Structure

estonia is a parliamentary republic with a president

elected by parliament for a five year term. estonia’s

parliament is unicameral and known as the

riigikogu.

Legal Structure

the legal system in estonia is based on civil law but

has been influenced by the German legal system.

estonia has a three-level court system consisting of

four county courts that are divided into regional

courthouses and two courts of appeal that includes

the highest court, the supreme Court.

Hours of Business


09:00am – 17:00pm.

Visas

estonia is a member of the schengen area









Transport

tallinn Airport (www.tallinn-airport.ee)

is the international airport in estonia. train

services operate in tallinn with connections to

st petersburg and Moscow. outside of tallinn there

is an extensive bus service. public transport

information can be obtained from the tallinn city

council website (www.tallinn.ee/eng) and

(http://soiduplaan.tallinn.ee)





Invest in Bureau


the invest in estonia bureau:

www.investinestonia.com/


EStoniA

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Estonia

Typical Lease Terms

Lease Length: Leases between

3 and 5 years are typical, but an

unlimited lease may be agreed.

older agreements contain early

termination clauses with a typical

6 month announcement time.


rent escalations apply to leases

longer than 2 years, or for an

indefinite term, and are typically

linked to the Consumer prices

index (or a percentage of Cpi) and

are adjusted annually. rent

reviews are upward adjustment

only.


rent deposits and/or bank

guarantees of 3–6 months rent

are usually required from

prospective tenants.

Rights of Renewal: the tenant is

afforded no security of tenure by

law, but commonly rights of

renewal are agreed in contracts.


the tenant has no right by law to

prematurely terminate the lease.

Break options can be agreed in

rental agreements. A typical

break option is the termination of

the agreement in 6 months prior

notice. it is possible for the

landlord and tenant to agree to

an early termination depending

on the market conditions and the

specific nature of the lease.


the landlord is usually

responsible for external building

maintenance and technical


responsible for internal

maintenance. the landlord is also

responsible for insurance of the

building and land tax but in single

tenant properties the tenant may

sometimes be required to insure

the property.



without the prior written consent

of the landlord.


Brokerage Law

there are no certain laws on

brokerage. there are brokers

associations that grant

certificates based on exams.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:

Rents: rents are quoted in local

currency on a square metre per

month basis and are paid on a

monthly basis. typically

agreements contain exchange

rate protection clauses against

currency devaluation risks.


charges are quoted in local

currency, on square metre per

month basis and are paid monthly

with the rent. these charges

include heating, water/sewage,

electricity and maintenance.

Local Property Tax: Local

property tax is paid by the

landlord directly but in some

cases this cost is invoiced back to

the tenant through a service

charge.

EStoniA


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Finland

Estonia

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees

Leasing – Fees are typically

10–15% of the first year’s

gross annual rent. each party

typically pays the fee of their

contracted agent.


the seller and are negotiated

on a case-by-case basis

depending on the purchase

price. Fees are usually

between 1–4% of the agreed

purchase price.

subletting – similar to leasing

fees.


Duty): there is no property

transfer tax in estonia.

Value Added Tax: the current VAt

rate in estonia is 18% and most

tenants pay VAt on rent, service

charges and notary costs.

•

•

•



premises, the normal

measurement of area used to

calculate rent is the net Base

Area. this is the net leasable area

and does not include areas used

for technical use such as vertical

penetrations (elevator shafts,

stairs) or structural walls.


Dilapidations: Fit out is

completed to tenant specifications

and is typically financed by the

landlord. this cost is then usually

charged to the tenant as a rental

surcharge depending upon the

transaction agreement.

Use of Space: Cellular offices

dominate the market, but open

plan offices are gaining popularity

in Baltic countries.

Holidays

peak holiday season is during the

summer months from mid-June to

mid-August, when transaction

times might be affected.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Helén

silverstolpe and Max Barclay of

newsec Advice AB for their



EStoniA


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Estonia

Country Statistics




Local currency euro

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 4.9 4.2 0.9 -5.7

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) 2,313 55 -3,442 -256








Major Cities


Helsinki 548,720

espoo 207,314

tampere 192,214

Vantaa 175,123

turku 171,519



FinlAnd

Helsinki

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Finland

Political Structure

Finland is a parliamentary republic where executive

powers are split between the president and the

prime minister plus the ministerial cabinet. the

president is elected for a 6-year term by popular

vote. the prime minister and Council of state are

answerable to the parliament (eduskunta) which

is unicameral and the supreme legislative body

in Finland.

Legal Structure

Finland’s legal system is based on civil law and

incorporates much of swedish law. the Finnish

judiciary consists of two systems; general courts and

administrative courts. the general courts handle

civil suits and criminal cases whilst the

administrative courts oversee the country’s

bureaucracy.

Hours of Business

Hours of business vary between summer and winter.

summer hours are 08:00am – 17:00pm and winter

hours are 08:00am to 16:00pm.

Visas

Finland is a member of the schengen area



passport do not require a visa. nationals from

eu-countries as well as switzerland and

Liechtenstein may remain for an unlimited time.

Citizens of the united states of America do not

require a visa for entry. A residence permit is

required if intending to stay for a period exceeding

3 months. Citizens of other nordic countries are

excluded from this requirement.

Transport

Finland’s international airport is Helsinki-Vantaa

Airport (www.helsinki-vantaa.fi) in Vantaa. Finland

also has a network of local airports and rail network

to connect the rest of the country. timetables for the

rail network can be obtained from the operator,

Finnish state railways (www.vr.fi/heo/index.html).





Invest in Bureau


the invest in Finland bureau:

www.investinfinland.fi


FinlAnd

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Finland

FinlAndTypical Lease Terms

Legislation: the real property

Code governs commercial lease

contracts in Finland. While this is

primarily intended to govern

residential transactions, it does

include mandatory regulations for

commercial leases. the

association of property owners

have published standard

contracts for different types of

properties (hotels, shopping

centres, offices) that are

approximately 2-4 pages with

appendices covering indexation of

rent and service charges and so

on. it is not compulsory to use the

standard contracts and any form

of contract is acceptable as long

as it conforms to the real

property Code. While most

companies utilise the standard

leases they tend to have their own

standard appendices. As most

companies are familiar with the

standard leases the negotiation

process tends to be shorter than

in many other countries in europe.

Lease Length: Leases between 3

and 5 years are typical, but an




longer than 3 years or for an



index and are adjusted annually.

upward adjustment only is most

common.



guarantees of 3 – 6 months rent





law but commonly may negotiate

rights of renewal with the

landlord.




it is possible however for the




specific nature of the lease. in

these instances, a termination

penalty is generally required. For

unlimited term leases the tenant

may terminate the lease at any

time with appropriate notice, but

the landlord must provide a valid

reason to terminate the lease and

then he is liable to pay



typically the landlord is





maintenance. the landlord is


building but in single tenant

properties, the tenant may


the property.




of the landlord.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Finland


Brokerage Law

An agency must have a person

possessing an authorization for

brokerage (LKV) who also acts as

the responsible person for

documenting all transactions.

individual agents must possess a

brokerage licence provided by the

magistrate of local municipality

(Lääninhallitus/Länsstyrelsen).

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:


on per square metre per month

basis and are paid in advance on a

quarterly basis.


charges are quoted in euros on

per square metre per month basis

and are paid in advance on a

quarterly basis with the rent.

these charges include heating,

water/sewage, and maintenance.

tenants usually pay their own

electricity.



landlord directly but ultimately

this cost is invoiced back to the

tenant through a service charge.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees


15-20% of the first year’s



contracted agent.






between 1-4% of the agreed

purchase price.


but in some instances

subletting fees may be higher

than leasing fees.

Property Transfer Tax: during

the purchase of a property the


paying a transfer tax equal to 4%

of the purchase price.


rate in Finland is 22% and most

tenants pay VAt on rent. in some

cases where the landlord is not

VAt registered, the VAt is not

charged. this applies to banks,

insurance companies, churches.

•

•

•



premises, the normal measurement

of area used to calculate rent is the

net Base Area. this is the net

leasable area and does not include

areas used for technical use such

as vertical penetrations (such as

elevator shafts and stairs) or

structural walls.


Dilapidations: Fit out is completed

to tenant specifications and is

financed by the landlord. the cost

is then usually charged to the

tenant as a rental surcharge

depending upon the transaction

agreement.

Use of Space: While cellular

offices, open plan, and mixed plan

offices are all common in Finland,

the most popular form of

premises today is open plan for

cost effective reasons.

Holidays


summer months of June to August

(July is high season) but

transaction times do not

necessarily become significantly

effected.

Acknowledgement


silverstolpe and Max Barclay

of newsec Advice AB for their

assistance in the preparation

of this country review.

FinlAnd


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Finland

Country Statistics




Local currency euro

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009

GDP (PPP US$ billionS 2005 PriceS) 1.914 1.957 1.964 1.896

GDP AnnUAl % 2.4 2.3 0.3 -3.5




inflAtion rAte AnnUAl % 1.7 1.5 2.8 -0.1





Major Cities


paris 2,152,329

Marseille 800,309

Lyon 415,479

toulouse 358,598

nice 342,903



FRAnCEparis

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

France

Political Structure

France is a parliamentary republic with a

presidential head of state who is elected for five

years. the president appoints the prime minister to

lead the government. the main legislative body is

the bicameral parliament that is comprised of the

senate and the national Assembly. the senate’s

powers are limited compared to the national

Assembly that has primacy in legislative matters.

Legal Structure

the French legal structure is a civil law system that

includes concepts that developed out of the

napoleonic period to form the basis of the highly

influential French Civil Code. the French judiciary

includes local courts that consist of a variety of civil

and criminal courts, 35 regional courts of appeal,

and the highest criminal court, known as the Court

of Cassation.

Hours of Business


09:00am – 12:00pm, 13:00pm – 18:00pm.

Visas

France is a member of the schengen area









Transport

the main international airport is paris roissy

Charles de Gaulle (www.aeroportsdeparis.fr) that is

located 23 kilometres to the north east of paris.

the other major airport in paris is paris orly.

France’s other international airports are found in

Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseilles, nice and toulouse.

France has a very well developed public transport

network. As well as buses paris is served by the

regional express railway (rer) for suburban rail

services and the efficient underground system, the

Metro. the paris transport Company provides

timetables for travel for both services (www.ratp.fr).

intercity rail services are provided by sCnr

(www.sncf.com) and travel detail can be found at

(www.tgv-europe.com/en/home).

paris is a destination terminal for the eurostar

service (www.eurotunnel.com) from France to the

uK plus links to other european rail networks.





Invest in Bureau


the invest in France bureau:

www.invest-in-france.org


FRAnCE

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

France

FRAnCETypical Lease Terms


leases is based on the regulations

of article L.145.1 and subsequent

articles of the new “Code de

Commerce” and the non-

abrogated parts of decree n° 53–

360 of 30 september 1953 and

subsequent amendments.

Lease Length: A lease can be 3

years although 6 or 9 fixed year

leases are frequently used.



on the Construction Costs index

(insee index) but the index used

should change in 2009 for new

leases. should the automatic

indexation from the start exceed

25 % during the lease, the tenant

can demand a rent review.

Landlord and tenant can also

agree to cap the escalation rate.






deposit of 3 months net rent must

be paid when the lease is signed.

the landlord may accept a bank

guarantee to replace the deposit.



of tenure. in the 9th year of the

lease, with 6 months notice, the

landlord may either renew the

lease at an adjusted rent or refuse

renewal. should he refuse to

renew, he is obliged to pay



the tenant has the right to break

the lease at the end of the 3rd

and 6th year subject to 6 months

written notice delivered by a

bailiff. the landlord does not have

the right to break the lease before

the end of the 9 year period. the

tenant does not have the right to

cancel the lease before the break

option dates unless prior

agreement from the landlord has

been obtained. if granted, this will

typically be subject to a penalty,

the amount of which will depend

on market conditions.


tenant obligations are internal

repair while landlord obligations

are main structural repairs and to

keep the roof watertight.

Maintenance and insurance is

paid by the landlord and re-

invoiced to the tenant.



without written consent from

the landlord, or unless it has

otherwise been authorised in

the lease.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

France


Brokerage Law

to be a property consultant, no

specific qualifications are required

but each agent must be registered

to get a “transaction card” in

order to be paid. in a company

there is usually one “transaction

card” for the manager (it is a

nominal card). the manager then

delegates his card to the other

members of the company. to be

registered a warrant is needed.

in accordance with the law

“Hoguet” (n°70-09 of 2 January

1970) the service provider must

have a registered listing (mandate)

in order to be able to offer a

property to a client. By virtue of

this listing, the landlord/main

tenant authorises the service

provider (who becomes the

Authorised service provider) to sell

or let the property on their behalf.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:



are paid quarterly in advance.



metre per annum and are paid

quarterly in advance, based on a

provisional amount, which is then

adjusted once the actual cost is

known at the end of the year.

Land Property Tax: Land tax

(impôt Foncier) is assessed on a

percentage of the notional value

of the building and is paid by the

landlord on an annual basis. this

cost is passed on to the tenant.

Other Taxes/Costs: office tax

(taxe Bureaux) specific to the ile-

de-France region is assessed on

the size of the premises based on

an annual fixed price per square

metre and paid by the landlord on

an annual basis. this cost is

passed on to the tenant.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees


30% of the first year’s net

rent. the fees are usually split

50:50 between the tenant and

landlord. sometimes a

different fee-split is agreed,

for example, 2/3 may be paid

by one party and 1/3 by the

other and occasionally one

party may pay all the fees.


the seller and negotiated on a

case-by-case basis depending

on the purchase price. Fees

are usually between 3-5% of

the agreed purchase price.

•

•

subletting – Fees are typically

based on the time that the

main tenant’s lease still had

to run (usually 10% of the

year’s net rent for terms of

one year or less and 20% for

terms of two years or more),

or on a percentage (to be

negotiated) of the savings


surrender.


purchase of a property, the


paying transfer tax, typically 4.8 –

5% of the purchase price.


rate in France is 19.6% and

payable on all forms of


service charges and agents fees

but is not paid on the property

transfer tax.

Other Taxes/Costs: notary fee

(0.825% if it is over 16,770 euros),

and other small expenses (stamps,

mortgage costs). the notary is

responsible for collecting all taxes

and extra costs, which is

approximately 6.5% – 7% of the

purchase price (including the

property transfer tax).

•

FRAnCE


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

France


Basis of Measurement: in France,

the following terms are used to

define floor areas:

sHoB (surface Hors oeuvre

Brute) – Gross Areas excluding

the shell of the building. the

sHoB is equal to the sum of

the areas of each floor of a

building, taking into account

the bare exterior of the walls

and the finished floors. it

includes basements and attic

spaces, whether they are

fitted out or not, balconies,

and accessible roof verandas

(excluding street-level

verandas).

sHon (surface Hors oeuvre

nette) – net Areas excluding


sHon takes into account the

bare exterior of the walls and

is equal to the sHoB after

having deducted basements

and attic spaces not fitted out

for residential or professional

activities (the attic spaces to

be deducted are considered to

be areas of which the ceiling

height is less than 1.80 m),

roof verandas, balconies,

loggias, and open areas

located on the ground floor

(eg parking areas).

•

•

suB (surface utile Brute ou

surface locative) – Gross

usable or Lettable Areas. this

is the area normally used in

the standard French lease

contract for calculating rent.

the suB is equal to the sum of

the office areas and common

areas, corridors (but not the

vertical circulations), toilets,

social areas and landings.

sun (surface utile nette) –

net Lettable Areas (used for

space planning) – the sun is

equal to the suB after having

deducted corridors, toilets

and landings. Common space

such as entrance halls or

cafeteria are added to the

lease as a proportion of the

tenant’s leased space of the

total building.


Dilapidations: office buildings

are usually delivered carpeted,

with suspended ceilings, lighting

and wiring (except data wiring),

and mechanical and electrical

servicing. raised floors and air

conditioning are standard in new

buildings. in a tenant’s market the

landlord may assume the cost of

partitioning or a part of the cost.

in a landlord’s market, these

costs are borne by the tenant.

•

•

All works, decorations,

installation, additions, and

furnishings which the tenant may

undertake on the premises during

the lease shall, at the end of the

lease or at the end of renewal,

belong to the landlord, unless the

latter should demand the return

of the premises to their original

state.

Use of Space: Companies occupy

office space usually as cellular

offices mixed with open spaces

(for projects team or commercial

departments).

Holidays

there are certain times of the year

in which the speed of transactions


France, the period from mid-July

(after Bastille day on 14 July)

through until the end of August is a

peak holiday period. Many of the

smaller companies close down in

August whilst larger firms operate

with only a skeleton staff.

FRAnCE


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

France

Country Statistics




Local currency euro

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009

GDP (PPP US$ billionS 2005 PriceS) 2,588 2,651 2,685 2,543

GDP AnnUAl % 3.0 2.5 1.3 -5.3

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) -38,520 -118,430 -37,539 22,651




AverAGe reAl WAGeS AnnUAl % -0.4 -1.2 -0.5 0.6




Major Cities


Berlin 3,386,667

Hamburg 1,704,735

Munich 1,194,560

Cologne 962,507

Frankfurt am Main 643,821



gERMAnYBerlin

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Germany

Political Structure

Germany is a federal republic with a president as

head of state elected every five years by the federal

legislature. the German central government is

parliamentary in nature but the exercise of power

occurs in a federal structure. the federal republic

consists of 16 states (Länder). each state has its own

mostly autonomous parliament so some regulations

may vary between states. the federal government is

headed by the chancellor who leads the executive in

the German government. the federal legislature is

bicameral and consists of a lower house, the

Bundestag and an upper house the Bundesrat.

Legal Structure

Germany’s legal system is based on civil law with

developments unique to Germany pertaining to the

rights of the individual. the judiciary consists of

ordinary courts, specialised courts and constitutional

courts. there are four levels of ordinary courts with

the majority (mostly lower level civil and criminal)

operating at state level although the higher level

courts (mostly appeal) at federal level.

Hours of Business

Works hours vary between states but the main office

hours are generally Monday to Friday 9:00am –

18:00pm.

Visas

Germany is a member of the schengen area








stay for a period exceeding 3 months that should be

applied for at the local Aliens office (Ausländeramt).

Transport

the most important airports in Germany are

Frankfurt (www.frankfurt-airport.de), Munich

(www.munich-airport.de), düsseldorf

(www.flughafen-duesseldorf.de), Cologne/Bonn

(www.airport-cgn.de), Hamburg (www.hamburg-

airport.de), Berlin (www.berlin-airport.de),

Hannover (www.hannover-airport.de), Bremen

(www.flughafen-bremen.de) and stuttgart

(www.flughafen-stuttgart.de).

Germany has a well-developed public transport

infrastructure consisting of buses, regional and

intercity trains. the interregio-express (ire)

connects cities across Germany, the regionalbahn

(rB) connects regions and the city centres whilst the

stadt-express (se) and s-Bahn network facilities

movement within cities and agglomerations. the

intercity express, eurocity and thayls (www.thalys.

com) train services link Germany to other european

cities. train timetables are available from deutsche

Bahn (www.bahn.de).





Invest in Bureau


the invest in Germany bureau:

www.invest-in-germany.com/homepage


gERMAnY

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Germany

gERMAnYTypical Lease Terms


leases is based on the German

Civil Code (BGB or Bürgerliches

Gesetzbuch), on statutory orders

(rechtsverordnung) or case law.

Lease Length: 5 years with an

additional 5 years renewal or

10 year leases are typical in

Germany.



on the Consumer price index (Vpi)

or compounded annually. in either

case, the terms and type of

indexation are negotiable.




tenants such as banking details

or access to company information.

either a deposit of 3 months

gross rent or a bank guarantee

is typical.


renew can be granted annually,

biannually, or for a further five

years. the length and terms of

options are subject to negotiation.


options are negotiable but

tenants should be aware of notice

periods to terminate otherwise

leases can continue automatically.

in most cases, if notice is not

given either 6 or 12 months in

advance, the lease will

automatically continue for an

additional year or in some cases 5

years. some lease agreements

allow for the premature exit of a

lease with the condition of a

penalty. in some cases, the

penalty is set out in the lease

agreement. if a penalty clause is

not included in a lease agreement,

then the lease term is usually

considered as fixed with the

tenant obligated to pay rent for

the remaining term.



repair and building and liability

insurance, while landlord

obligations are typically external

repairs, structural repairs,

maintenance and loss of rent

insurance.

Subletting: Generally subletting

is allowed with the written

consent of the landlord. the

landlord must accept the

subtenant if they have an average

covenant, but is allowed to

prohibit subletting if the use of

the premises by a subtenant

substantially deviates from the

original use by the main tenant. if

not explicitly mentioned in a lease

agreement, tenants are able to

charge higher rents to subtenants

then what they pay to the

landlord.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Germany


Brokerage Law

Agents need a trade licence but

no specific education to practice

in Germany. German brokerage

law is governed by the German

Civil Code. in general, if a property

is introduced to a prospective

tenant, and the tenant views the

property with the introducing

agent, then the tenant is legally

obligated to pay the agent a fee if

the tenant signs a lease

agreement on that property.

in many cases local management

may have already been active in

the market and have received

offers and viewed with other

agents before they were notified

of an existing instruction with

another sole agent. it can then be

a problem to identify which

brokerage firm has a legal right to

receive fees and to determine the

total brokerage fee of the

transaction.

this can be avoided if the real

estate department of the tenant is

aware of this environment and

notifies local management not to

go to market unless instructed at

the appropriate time. if a tenant

has received offers but have not

viewed the property, they can

release their obligations to pay a

fee if they send back the offers to

the agent who made the offer by

formally rejecting them in writing.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:







paid monthly in advance. usually

they include costs of insurance,

caretakers, cleaning,

maintenance, public taxes and

consumption costs.

Local Property Tax

(Grundsteuer): these taxes are

assessed on a percentage of the

notional value of the building and

paid by the landlord on an annual

basis. these costs are passed on

to a tenant at generally 10-15% of

the monthly building service

charges. the monthly service

charge includes the local property

tax.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees

Leasing – Fees are usually 3 to

4 months gross rent (including

parking) for a lease

agreement for 5 years with a

5 year extension or 10 year

lease term. A fee of 2.5 to 3.5

months gross rent will be

charged for a lease length

under 5 years. traditionally,

tenants pay fees although in

some cases, depending on the

market, landlords are willing

to pay some of the fees.

Freehold – Market fees for the

sale of freeholds, usually paid

by the seller are 3-5% of the

purchase price.

subletting – in a landlord’s

market, a subtenant would

pay fees to the agent

instructed by the main tenant

equivalent to 2.5 to 4 months

gross monthly rent (including

parking) as set out above.

However, in tenant friendly

markets, subtenants will use

their leverage to ask for rent

free periods, costs for

improvements to be assumed

by the main tenant and have

the main tenant assume

commission fees.

•

•

•

gERMAnY


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Germany

Property Transfer Tax

(Grunderwerbsteuer): For the



paying a property transfer tax of

3.5 – 4.5 % depending on German

federal states.


rate in Germany is 19% and is




fees, notary costs and property

transfer tax.


purchase of a property, a

registered notary must be

instructed who will charge a fee

of 1% of the purchase price.

Generally, the purchaser assumes

the notary costs.



three standard measuring

practises:

net base area or nGF (netto

Grundfläche) – this includes

main usable space; ancillary

space such as toilets, kitchens

and parking spaces;

separating walls; circulation

space; and area used for

technical uses and elevators.

Gross base area or BGF

(Brutto Grundfläche) – this

includes the net base area

calculation (nGF) including

the calculation of the area of

the shell and core of the

building.

GiF (Gesellschaft für

immobilienwirtschaftliche

Forschung, translate as

society for real estate

research) – this is the most

tenant friendly calculation

as it excludes the calculation

of areas used for technical

uses and elevators and the

calculation of the shell and

core of the building. the

difference in spatial

calculation between the

GiF and BGF methods is

between 20-30%. this is

the most commonly used

area calculation for rent

in Germany.

•

•

•

in addition, a pro-rata share of

common areas may be added by

landlords to gain rent for

entrance halls, etc. Alternatively,

a higher unit rate may be quoted

on true useable areas to

compensate.





partitioning as a standard and

such costs are borne by the

landlord. usually a top cooling/

fan pipe system is installed in

new office developments. Full air

conditioning is only installed in

high class buildings sometimes.

When letting second generation

space, the landlord will generally

assume the costs of installing





reinstating the space in the

condition that they had first

occupied the space. tenant


undertaken during occupancy can

be sold to the landlord. often,

leases will stipulate that the

landlord has a right of first

refusal to purchase the

improvements from the tenant.

gERMAnY


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Germany

Use of Space: Companies typically

occupy office space as cellular

offices for one or two people. open

plan space is becoming more

common but the size of the open

space is subject to ceiling height.

the use and density of space must

be in accordance with the

Arbeitsstättenrichtlinienverordnung

or Federal Workspace Guidelines

that are administered by the trade

supervisory office. these

guidelines govern the distance

from natural light, position of a

desk, position of a pC on the desk

and so on that must be taken into

account when drafting a

workspaces plan.

Holidays




reduced due to holidays. different

federal states in Germany have

summer school holidays of six

weeks beginning as early as the

end of June and the latest from

the end of August. there are also

a number of public holidays

during the middle of the week in

May and June, when many people

will take holidays for a number of

days. easter school break is

generally around mid of March

and mid of April. Many people in

Germany begin their Christmas

holidays one week before

Christmas and return on the

second week of January.

gERMAnY


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Germany

Country Statistics




Local currency euro

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 4.5 4.0 2.9 -3.1

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) 1,175 -3,303 -3,122 -2,870








Major Cities


Athens 772,072

salonika (thessaloniki) 749,048

piraeus 182,671

patras 153,344

peristeri 137,288



gREECE

Athens

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Greece

Political Structure

Greece is a parliamentary republic whose president

is elected by parliament to serve five year terms.

the Hellenic parliament is unicameral parliament

consists of 300 seats with members elected by

popular vote to serve four-year terms.

Legal Structure

the Greek legal structure is european civil system

based on codified roman law (itself based on ancient

Greek law) with influences from German legal

tradition. the Greek judiciary consists of three types

of court; civil, criminal and administrative that

operate at three levels of jurisdiction.

Hours of Business


09:00am – 17:00pm.

Visas

Greece is a member of the schengen area








stay for a period exceeding 3 months that should be

applied for at the Consulate General of Greece.

Transport

the main international airport in Greece is Athens

international Airport eleftherios Venizelos

(www.aia.gr) south east of Athens city centre.

Bus and a three line suburban train system connect

Athens. the state company, the Attikko Metro

(www.ametro.gr) runs the system, provides

timetables and is currently working to expand the

network. outside of Athens, the only rail connection

is between Athens and thessaloniki. Most travel is

done by short haul internal flights or by bus.





Invest in Bureau


the invest in Greece bureau:

www.investingreece.gov.gr


gREECE

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Greece

gREECETypical Lease Terms

Legislation: Commercial leases

are governed by the Greek Civil

Code and presidential decree

34/1995.

Lease Length: the minimum

initial lease length is legally

prescribed at 12 years. it is

generally advisable that the lease

contract bears what is legally

known as a “certified date” (the

date of registering the lease

contract with the relevant tax

authority or notary public).

special lease contracts may also

be agreed on the basis of

alternative legal arrangements.


rent is adjusted annually based on

the Cost of Living index. the basis

of rent escalation is freely

negotiable and in the past,

escalation clauses of inflation plus

5% were not uncommon. over the

last few years the accepted norm

for escalation clauses is inflation

or inflation plus 1% or 2%.






Generally a deposit of 2 or 3



contract.




agreed for a definite term may

automatically renew for an

indefinite period if the tenant


after the end of the original lease

if there is no objection by the

landlord.


the tenant has the right to

terminate the lease 2 years after

its commencement. prior written

notice must be served to the

landlord 6 months after the end

of the 2 year period and a

compensation of 4 months rent

must be paid to the landlord.

upon expiry of a 12-year lease the

landlord may terminate the lease

provided that 9 months prior

written notice is served and that

the landlord pays the tenant

compensation equal to 24 months

rent. if such notice is not served,

then the lease is automatically

renewed for another 4 years.

upon completion of 16 years from

the commencement of the initial

lease the landlord may terminate

the lease without paying

compensation at all. if the lease is

not renewed for another definite

duration after the completion of

16 years, then it is considered to

be of indefinite period and may

therefore be terminated by either

party with appropriate notice

(generally one month).



repair, maintenance and content

insurance whilst landlord

obligations are external repairs,

structural repairs, maintenance

and building insurance.

Subletting: subletting is allowed

with the written consent of

the landlord as long as the

subtenant agrees to accept all

responsibilities initially accepted

by the main tenant.


Brokerage Law

Agents need to be registered to

practice in Greece if they are to

enjoy the privileges provided to

them by Greek law, but private

contracts to pay an agency fee to

a non-registered agent are still

enforceable.

if a property is introduced to a

prospective tenant and is viewed

with the introducing agent, then

the tenant is obligated to pay the

agent a fee if the tenant signs a

lease agreement on that property.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Greece

gREECEOccupancy Costs


by the tenant:




Service Charge (Koinohrista):

Building service charges are

quoted in euros per square metre


in advance with the rent.

Local Property Taxes: these

consist of municipal taxes and

municipal duties and are

generally levied through payment

of electricity bills. they may vary

significantly per geographic

region. the maximum charges are

publicised by the mayor’s office,

but informal negotiations with

local authorities to obtain lower

rates do exist (particularly for

sizeable or important buildings).

Acquisition Costs




premises include:

Agents Fees


1 month’s net rent plus VAt or

10% to 12% per annual rent

plus VAt.

Freehold – Fees are

negotiable and depend on the

size of the property involved

and the particular market

characteristics at the time.

the standard fee is 2%. it is

uncommon to find fees below

1% of the transaction value for

a reasonably large deal (over

€ 5 million). Fees can also be

up to 3% of purchase price.


fees.

it is common in Greece for agents

to get paid by both parties in a

transaction. in these cases

separate instructions from both

parties are required to be signed.

•

•

•

Property Transfer Tax: two

systems exist. For land and

properties with permits prior to

Jan 2006 has the purchaser

responsible for paying a property

transfer tax of 9-11% on the

value of the property exchanged

(as quoted on the relevant spA).

For properties with permits post

Jan 2006, transactions are subject

to VAt.

VAT: VAt in Greece is currently


to VAt.





of approximately 1.2 % of the

purchase price. Generally, the

purchaser covers for notary costs.

there are also obligatory

minimum legal fees that typically

equate to 1.2 – 1.5% of the

purchase price. A number of other

supplementary taxes are

applicable depending on the

transaction and a local tax

consultant should be utilised.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Greece




measurement in Greece but

premises are typically measured

based upon the Gross Area

(including external walls but not

common space unless solely

utilized by tenant) stated on

architectural plans for planning

approval.




associated with fit out. While the

tenant has a legal responsibility

to remove improvements from the

premises at the expiry of the

lease, in practice this is rarely

required as the majority of

landlords prefer the

improvements to remain.


offices in Greece have tended to


recently in newer buildings,

offices are designed to be

predominantly open plan.

Holidays

there is no particular period

during the year when the speed of


affected by holidays. peak holiday

periods tend to be during

midsummer (mid-August) and

between Christmas and new Year.

Acknowledgement






review.

gREECE


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Greece

Country Statistics




Local currency Forint

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 4.0 1.2 0.4 -6.0





AverAGe reAl WAGeS AnnUAl % 4.1 -0.1 1.2 -2.8




Major Cities


Budapest 1,825,153

debrecen 204,340

Miskolc 172,993

szeged 158,646

pécs 157,970



HungARYBudapest

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Hungary

Political Structure

Hungary is a parliamentary republic with a president

as head of state elected by the national Assembly

to serve a 5 year term. the parliament or national

Assembly (orszaggyules) is unicameral and consists

of 386 members are elected who serve four

year terms.

Legal Structure

the Hungarian judiciary is based on the German-

Austrian legal system and is comprised of a tiered

structure of local municipal district courts, country

courts, the Court of the Capital City and the supreme

Court.

Hours of Business


08:00am – 16:30pm.

Visas

Hungary is a member of the schengen area








stay for a period exceeding 3 months applied for at

the local regional agency of the Hungarian

immigration and nationality office.

Transport

the principal international airport is Budapest

Airport Zr (www.bud.hu), located at Ferihegy 16

kilometres to the south east of Budapest.

Budapest’s public transportation system consists of

buses, trams and suburban railways. it is connected

to other cities in Hungary by a national railway

system. information can be obtained from BKV

(www.bkv.hu)





Invest in Bureau


the Hungarian government investment bureau:

www.itd.hu


HungARY

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Hungary

HungARYTypical Lease Terms

Legislation: the Hungarian Civil

Code and specifically, the Leases

Act 1993, governs commercial

leases in Hungary.

Lease Length: there are no set

limits for lease terms so they can

be indefinite although in practice

3 and 5 year leases are typical. 5

years tends to be more typical of

class A buildings whereas class B

have leases between 1 to 3 years.

Hungarian law makes a

distinction between commercial

leases and leasehold, which

refers to agricultural land.


options are negotiable, however,


periods as options will expire and

become null and void if notice is

not delivered on time. in most

cases, the penalty for early lease


negotiations and depends on


termination notice periods for

landlords are one year and 15

days for tenants.

Rent Escalation/Rent Reviews:

rents escalation is based on the

Hungarian service price index or

european Consumer price.

indexation is either annual or


by, for example, more than 2-3%.

rent indexation is generally

upwards only.

Rights of Renewal: the tenant

has no security of tenure by law.

Leases will terminate at the date

of expiry, and must be

renegotiated. if an option to

extend was previously agreed,

then the current lease terms and

rent will continue for the new

lease, as detailed in the lease.





either a deposit of 3-4 months net

rent or a bank guarantee is






technical installations and tenant

are responsible for small


within the premises. Maintenance

obligations should be clearly spelt

out in the lease agreement.


is allowed, but only with the prior

written consent of the landlord.

the landlord is not obliged to

accept the subtenant, however, in

practice if the subtenant’s

covenant is good, then it will

generally be accepted.


Brokerage Law


have a license in order to trade as

an agent in Hungary. Generally,

each party is responsible to pay

their respective agents. on

occasions however the landlord’s

agent may sometimes be

permitted to earn a fee of 0.5

months rent from the tenant. the

tenant agent will only earn fees

from the tenant directly.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:


or us dollars per square metre

per month (also Forints) and are

paid monthly or quarterly in

advance.


charges are quoted in euros or us

dollars per month or quarter and

are paid monthly or quarterly in

advance. service charges are

sometimes charged in the local

currency.


by the landlord and invoiced to

the tenant.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Hungary

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees

Leasing – Leasing – Fees are

usually equal to 2 months net

rent for a lease agreement.


negotiable but are typically

1.5–2.5% of the purchase

price, and are paid by the

seller.



purchase of a property, a property

transfer tax of 10% will be levied,

based on the purchase price of

the property plus VAt. the VAt

will be normally refunded after

approximately 3 months. the

responsibilities of the costs are

usually negotiated and very often

the costs are split 50:50 between

vendor and purchaser.

Value Added Tax: the VAt (ÁFA)

rate in Hungary is 20% and is




fees, notary costs, finance tax and

property transfer tax.

•

•

•

Other Taxes/Costs: For the

purchase of a property legal and

notary costs of approximately 0.5-

1% in total, based on the purchase

price of the property plus VAt are

payable. the responsibilities of

these costs are usually negotiated

and very often the costs are split

50:50 between vendor and

purchaser.




practises:



Association standard (BoMA)

– this is the most commonly










factor of 5 – 12 % may be



building is new.


(Brutto Geschossfläche) – this




area within.

•

•







landlord. upgrading space to full

air conditioning is generally the

responsibility of the tenant as

only a top cooling/fan pipe system

is normally installed in new

buildings. When letting second

generation space, the landlord

will generally assume the costs of

installing partitioning according

to a space plan provided by the

tenant. When vacating premises,

the tenant is responsible for


condition that they had first




cannot be sold to the landlord,


lease. if the landlord wishes, they

may ask for the premises to

remain in their existing condition.

Use of Space: Both open plan and

cellular offices are predominantly

used in Hungary.

Holidays

August and January tend to

generally be the main holiday

periods when the speed of

transactions may be affected.

HungARY


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Ireland

Hungary

Country Statistics




Local currency euro

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 5.7 6.0 -2.3 -7.5

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) -15,589 4,081 9,363 -752




AverAGe reAl WAGeS AnnUAl % -0.7 -0.0 0.3 -2.0




Major Cities


dublin 952,692

Cork 179,954



iRElAnd

dublin

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Italy

Ireland

Political Structure

ireland is a parliamentary republic with a president

as chief of state who is directly elected by the people

to serve for a 7-year term. the irish parliament

(oireachtas) is bicameral and consists of the senate

(seanad eireann) and the House of representatives

(dail eireann). the senate oversees and advises on

legislation passed by the House of representatives

where legislative power resides. the majority party

or coalition nominates the prime minister

(taoiseach).

Legal Structure

the irish legal system is based on english common

law and modified to incorporate local concepts. the

tiered court system consists of district courts at the

local level, circuit courts, high courts, the court of

criminal appeal and the highest court, the supreme

Court.

Hours of Business


09:00am – 17:00pm.

Visas

ireland is not a member of the schengen area





may also enter without a visa. Citizens of the united

states of America do not require a visa for entry. A

residence permit is required if intending to stay for a

period exceeding 3 months.

Transport

the main airport is dublin international

(www.dublinairport.com) located approximately

10 kilometres north of dublin city centre. there is no

dedicated rail link to the airport.

train services (www.irishrail.ie) connect the main

cities and there are extensive bus and coach services

around dublin (www.cie.ie) and the rest of ireland.



Coordinated universal time (utC)


Invest in Bureau


the invest in ireland bureau:

www.idaireland.com


iRElAnd

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Ireland

iRElAndTypical Lease Terms


leases is the Landlord and tenant

Act 1980 together with various

ancillary legislation.

Lease Length: 20-25 year leases

incorporating break options

(depending on the covenant on

offer) are typical in ireland. Break

options are more likely to be

granted in a depressed market.

Lease lengths have shortened in

recent years and break options

are commonplace (particularly

for office & industrial/logistic

lettings) in the current market.


rent will be subject to an upward

only review. this clause is usually

every 5 years but in rare

instances can be other periods

such as every 7 years, although

this tends to be a historic feature

of the market. the new rent will

be agreed between the parties

and is based primarily on open

market lettings and secondly, on

rent review evidence. if

agreement cannot be reached, an

arbitrator or independent expert

will be appointed to set the new

rent. there is usually a provision

for referral to third party

contained within the lease.




tenants such as accounting/

banking details and access to

company information. either a

deposit of 3 months rent or a bank

guarantee are necessary to

complete the lease depending on

strength of covenant.

Right of Renewal: on the basis

that tenants occupy premises for

a period in excess of 5 years, they

have an automatic right of

renewal by law on expiry of the

lease and can apply for a new

lease on similar terms as the

original one. under new

legislation, both parties can now

agree to contract out of this

protection by signing a deed of

renunciation.


options are negotiable depending

on market circumstances and the

quality of the tenant’s covenant.

in other instances breaks at

intervals of 5 years can be

negotiated, these are subject to

written notice and may be subject

to payment of monetary penalties.


When the building is entirely

occupied by one tenant, the

tenant will normally take on full

repairing and insuring obligations

(Fri) for the interior and exterior

of the space. in buildings that are

in multiple occupational, the

tenant obligations are generally

internal repair, maintenance and

insurance (iri) while landlord

obligations are external repairs,

maintenance and insurance.

the landlord will charge these

costs to the tenant through the

service charge.



consent of the landlord, such

consent not to be unreasonably

withheld or delayed. the

subtenant is normally required to

sublet at a rent not less than the

passing rent, however can sublet

at a rent higher than the passing

rent.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Ireland


Brokerage Law

Commercial agents need to be

registered to practice in ireland

and must hold an auctioneers

licence. the Auctioneers and

House Agents Acts 1947-1973

govern brokerage in ireland.

Agents are normally appointed by

both sides (landlord and tenant)

in a transaction and each side will

pay their own agents fees. Agents

will generally act in an advisory

capacity initially and then

negotiate on behalf of the client,

on the client’s instructions. it is

considered to be a conflict of

interest if the same broker

represents both the landlord and

the tenant. the royal institution

of Chartered surveyors (riCs)

regulations require that both

parties must be notified if a

conflict exists.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:




ireland generally uses calendar

quarter (gale) days, which are;

1 January, 1 April, 1 July and

1 october.



square metre per annum and are

paid quarterly in advance along

with the rent.

Local Property Tax (Commercial

Business Rates): these municipal

taxes are assessed on a

percentage of the notional rental

value of the space and paid

directly to the local council by the

tenant, normally on a semi-

annual basis.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees

Leasing – Fees are usually 10%

– 15% of the first year’s rent.

For larger or higher value

instructions this percentage

can be negotiated as

appropriate and are subject to

written agreement. Fees will

also depend on the location of

the property, with regional

properties sometimes

commanding higher fees.

•

Freehold – Fees for the sale or

purchase of freeholds are

based on 1.5% of the purchase

price. this percentage may be

increased for small properties

or reduced for larger

instructions. Fees will also

depend on the location of the

property, with regional

properties sometimes

commanding higher fees.




property, the buyer will be


transfer tax of 6%, which is based


property.

Value Added Tax: the current

VAt rate in the ireland is 21.5%

and is payable on rent, building

service charge, agents fees and

legal costs.

•

•

iRElAnd


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Ireland


Basis of Measurement: the

measurement of buildings in

ireland is governed by the sCs

Code of Measuring practice

(currently under review). this

document defines what should

and should not be included.

office Accommodation – City

centre properties are

measured on a net internal

basis (niA). this is the “carpet

area” and excludes ancillary

space such as toilets,

staircases, elevators, plant

areas and parking spaces.

suburban office properties

are measured on a gross

internal (GiA) basis and not

on a niA basis.

industrial Accommodation –

Measured on a gross external

basis (GeA). this includes

everything within the external

walls of the building.

retail Accommodation –

Measured on a niA basis.

•

•

•

•



developments are provided by the

landlord with raised floors, floor

boxes to a ratio of 1:10 square

metre, suspended ceilings,

recessed light fittings and air

conditioning. the tenant will

typically be responsible for

providing internal partitioning,

cabling, carpeting, security and

facilities such as reception areas,

post rooms and kitchens. When

vacating premises, the tenant is

responsible for reinstating the

space to the condition it was at

the start of the lease.

the tenant will have to remove all

improvements made to the

property and reinstate the

premises to the original condition

on handover from the landlord. if

the tenant chooses not to do this

work themselves, a dilapidations

estimate will be agreed between

building surveyors acting for both

sides. this will be the amount to

be paid by the tenant in lieu of the

reinstatement works.


occupy office space as open plan

space with a small number of

executive offices and meeting

rooms. retail premises are

generally let on a shell and core

basis with services brought to a

point within the unit, for

connection by the tenant.

Holidays

August and december are the only

periods in the year when holidays

will affect the speed of projects.

there are also a number of Bank

holidays. these fall on Mondays,

and are in May, June, August,

october and the Friday and

Monday at easter. some

professionals also take holidays

around the easter weekend as

most schools are on holidays (Mid

term break).

iRElAnd


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Ireland

Country Statistics




Local currency euro

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 2.1 1.5 -1.0 -4.6









Major Cities


rome 2,648,843

Milan 1,305,591

naples 1,046,987

turin 921,485

palermo 689,349



itAlY

rome

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Italy

Political Structure

italy is a parliamentary republic with a president as

head of state elected for a 7 year term by

parliament. the state of italy consists of twenty

regions with governing powers and five of these

sardinia, sicily, trentino-Alto Adige, Valle d’Aosta,

and Friuli-Venezia Giulia have some degree of

autonomy. in practice the italian state remains

highly centralised with legislative power remaining

with parliament. the parliament is bicameral and

consists of the Chamber of deputies (Camera dei

deputati) and the senate (senato della repubblica).

Legislation can be issued by either house but to gain

assent must pass in both houses.

Legal Structure

the italian legal system is a civil law system based

on roman law and modified with the napoleonic

code. the judiciary consists of the courts who deal

with ordinary civil and criminal cases, administrative

issues, accounting, military, and taxation. Jurisdiction

over civil and criminal matters is by the Judicial

order. the order is divided into judges and

magistrates of the public prosecutor’s office who

perform the function of investigators and judge.

Hours of Business


08:00/09.00am – 12.00/13.00pm and 14.00/15.00 –

18.00/19.00pm

Visas

italy is a member of the schengen area agreement.

Holders of an eeA (eu Member states, iceland,

Liechtenstein and norway) or swiss passport do

not require a visa. nationals from eu-countries as

well as switzerland and Liechtenstein may also

enter without a visa. Citizens of the united states of

America do not require a visa for entry. A residence

permit is required if intending to stay for a period

exceeding 3 months obtained from the local

italian authorities.

Transport

the principle international airports are to be found

in rome and Milan. rome’s Fiumicino Airport (www.

adr.it), also known as Leonardo da Vinci, is located

26 kilometres south west of the city centre. there is

an express rail service direct to termini central

station that takes 15 minutes to reach the city

centre. details can be obtained at www.

ferroviedellostato.it

Milan has two airports. Milan Linate international

Airport (www.sea-aeroportimilano.it) that is located

7 kilometres east of Milan. the airport is connected

to the city via bus and taxi services. Milan Malpensa

international Airport (www.sea-aeroportimilano.it) is

located 45 kilometres north west from central

Milan. Malpensa is connected by express train that

run every half-hour to Milan’s stazione nord,

Cadorna.

italian state railways (Ferrovie dello stato)

(www.ferroviedellostato.it) provide an effective

means of transport through a high-speed inter City

and european train network that is undergoing

expansion in italy.





Invest in Bureau


the invest in italy bureau:

www.invitalia.it


itAlY

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Italy

itAlYTypical Lease Terms

Legislation: the statue law that

governs leases is based on italian

Law ex lege 392/78 and

subsequent amendments.

Lease Length: Leases must legally

be at least 6 years in length.

Leases are therefore generally for

6 year terms with an automatic

renewal period for the tenant of

an additional 6 years.

Lease contract: there is no

standard form of lease contract in

italy. the form of lease is typically

dictated by the landlord and will

often be specific to each

individual landlord (with some

general articles required by laws).


rents are linked to the istAt Cost

of Living index and will be

increased annually based upon

75% of the index, although in

some cases it is 100%.




tenants such as a credit rating. A

deposit of 3 months or more

usually six months rent or a bank

guarantee for the deposit period is


Rights of Renewal: According to

italian law leases are

automatically renewable for

additional 6 year terms at the

same rent (plus istAt increases).

Longer renewal periods can be

negotiated.


this does not legally have to be

provided but it can be agreed

upon between the landlord and

tenant. in this case, the tenant

can have the right to terminate

the lease with 12 months prior

written notice as long as it is

specified in advance in the lease

contract.


tenant obligations are usually the

ordinary maintenance and annual

services charges. the landlord

provides the extraordinary

maintenance.


property is allowed but only if it is

stated in the lease contract and

with the prior written consent of

the landlord.


Brokerage Law

in italy the agents of real estate

consultants must be registered by

the local trade chamber after

passing its examination. After

registration the agent obtains the

official licence to operate that is

essential in order to be paid. in a

real estate company the licence

belongs to the manager who then

delegates the other members of

the company to operate.

Agents work in several different

ways with clients:

a) having an “exclusive

instruction” (incarico in esclusiva)

from the landlord who authorises

the service provider to sell or let

a property. in this case the agent/

company is paid by the landlord.

every other agent who wants to

fill the building with a client

cannot contact the landlord

directly but must go through the

company who has the “incarico”.

b) having an instruction for a new

space search. in this case the

company has to be paid by the

client who is looking for space and

act as a “filter” for those agents

who want to get in contact with

the client in order to propose

other buildings.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Italy

c) without instruction. in this case

agents have to ask the “official”

agent in charge of the building or

the client for the right to co-

operate. this leaves the possibility

that the building will be offered

directly to any clients of the

asking agent.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:



paid quarterly in advance. Value

Added tax and services charges

are never included in the rate

price. in the contract areas are

specified as rooms rather than

square metres.



annum and paid quarterly in

advance. they are based on an

estimated budget that will be

adjusted with the effective costs

at the end of the year.


landlord (imposta Comunale sugli

immobili). some other local taxes

have to be paid directly by the

tenant (ex. “tassa rifiuti”).

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents’ fees

Leasing – Fees are 10% up to

12% of the net annual rent

(“canone a regime”) to be paid

by the two parties (tenant

and Landlord), except where

the agent receives an

exclusive instruction from the

client the fee from the other

party is not given.in this case,

the agents’ fees come only

from the client.

Freehold – usually for a

property acquisition the fees

are paid by both parties

(vendor and purchaser) with a

percentage from 1% to 2% of

the sale price from each party.

in case of a larger purchase

the percentage can decrease

below 1%. in case of “co-

operation” with another

agency each will be paid by

their client.

subletting – subject to

agreement with the first

tenant (10–12% of annual year

rent or a percentage of the

savings obtained).

renewals – usually renewed

lease contracts are signed

directly by the landlord with

the tenant without agency

involvement.

Lease renegotiation – 5% of

the net annual rent (“canone a

regime”) plus an incentive fee

connected to results agreed

with the client.

•

•

•

•

•


Duty): Asset deal: sales of

commercial real estate carried

out by VAt-taxable persons are

exempt from VAt unless: (a) the

seller is a construction company

that built or renovated the

relevant property not more than

four years prior to the sale; (b) the

buyer is a VAt-taxable person

with a limited right to reclaim VAt

(e.g. banks or insurance

companies with a VAt

deductibility percentage equal to

or below 25%); (c) the buyer is a

consumer; (d) the seller expressly

elected to subject the transaction

to VAt in the sale and purchase

agreement. VAt can be reclaimed.


italy is 20% and is due on all

forms of transactions including

rent, building service charge,

agents fees. it is never included in

the price.

Other Taxes/Costs: transactions

subject to VAt are also liable for

the following additional transfer

taxes: (a) registration tax at a

fixed amount of eur 168; (b) 1%

cadastral tax; and (c) 3%

mortgage tax. taxes are reduced

to 2% (one-half) for transactions

involving real estate funds, or for

those transactions which involve

leasing companies, banks and

financial intermediaries.

registration, mortgage and

cadastre taxes are not

recoverable. the cost for the

itAlY


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Italy

notary deed is the responsibility

of the purchaser. the fee of the

notary has to be agreed with the

purchaser with regard to the

transaction. to finalise a

transaction both parties will

generally appoint a registered

solicitor to agree the final

contract. often tenants will utilise

the services of a financial/fiscal

consultant and/or a lawyer who

specialises in real estate. the fee

for these services will be based

on a pre-agreed charge.


Basis of Measurement: office

premises are usually measured on

a “carpetable” basis. Basically

this measurement will exclude

ancillary space such as

staircases, elevators, plant areas,

and parking spaces. in most

buildings the core of the building

does not contain lavatories so

they are included in the

measurement of the premises.

outdoor terraces are not included

in the measurement of the

premises for the calculation of

rent for offices. often office

buildings in the center of cities

have limited parking places, but

they (and their cost) are not

included in the building area.



developments include suspended

ceilings, fluorescent lighting,

carpeting, central heating, air

conditioning and raised floors as

standard with the costs borne by

the landlord. Landlords do not

provide for fit out or moving costs

but they will sometimes offer a

free rent period if these costs are

extensive. upgrading space is a

responsibility of the incoming

tenant. All works, additions and

furnishings made by the tenant

will belong to the landlord who

may decide at the end of the

contract to keep them. if not when

vacating premises the tenant is

responsible for reinstating the

space to the condition it was in at

initial occupation. tenant


undertaken during occupancy may

be required to be removed if

requested by the landlord, unless

otherwise stipulated in the lease.



offices mixed with open space (for

projects team or commercial

departments) and meeting rooms.

Holidays

in italy there are limited holidays

during the year. they are mostly

concentrated in summertime

(especially in August) and at

Christmas.

itAlY


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Italy

Country Statistics




Local currency Lat

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 12.2 10.0 -4.6 -17.0

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) 1,491 1,912 1,600 450








Major Cities


riga 792,508

daugavpils 114,980



lAtviAriga

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Latvia

Political Structure

Latvia is a parliamentary republic with a mostly

ceremonial president as head of state. the president

is elected by the parliament to serve a four year

term. Legislative power is exercised through the

unicameral parliament (saeima).

Legal Structure

the Latvian legal structure is based on the civil law

system although it has influenced by socialist legal

traditions and practices. the judicial structure is

organised at the bottom level with district courts

that deal with hear administrative, civil and criminal

cases. regional courts receive and deal with appeals

from district courts. the highest court is the

supreme Court.

Hours of Business


08.30am – 17:30pm.

Visas

Latvia is a member of the schengen area agreement.


Liechtenstein and norway) or swiss passport do not

require a visa. nationals from eu-countries as well

as switzerland and Liechtenstein may also enter

without a visa. Citizens of the united states of



exceeding 3 months obtained the office of

Citizenship and Migration Affairs.

Transport

the largest and most central airport in Latvia is riga

international Airport (www.riga-airport.com) about 8

kilometres south-west from the city centre. Access

to the city is by bus, or taxi.

Latvia has a rail service that connects the major

urban areas in Latvia and is run by Latvian state

railways (www.ldz.lv). information on rail

timetables and destinations can be obtained from

the website.





Invest in Bureau


the investment and development Agency of Latvia:

www.liaa.gov.lv


lAtviA

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Latvia

Typical Lease Terms















only.

































the property.




of the landlord.


Brokerage Law





Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:




















charge.

lAtviA


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Latvia

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees





contracted agent.







purchase price.


fees.


Duty): there is property transfer

tax in Latvia of roughly 2% of

market value of the property to a

set maximum of 30,000 LVL.


rate in Latvia is 18% and most



•

•

•























Holidays





Acknowledgement






lAtviA


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Latvia

Country Statistics




Local currency Litas

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 7.8 8.9 3.0 -13.0

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) 1,551 1,334 1,000 900








Major Cities


Vilnius 578,334

Kaunas 414,174

Klaipėda 202,528

panevėžys 133,638

Šiauliai 146,800



litHuAniA

Vilnius

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Lithuania

Political Structure

Lithuania is a parliamentary republic with directly

elected president as head of state who serves a 5

year term. the Lithuanian parliament (seimas) is

unicameral with executive power resting with the

Council of Ministers that is comprised of the

president, prime minister and the cabinet.

Legal Structure

the Lithuanian legal system is based on civil law

system with influences from French, German and

dutch legal systems. the judiciary consists of local

courts, district courts and the Court of Appeal.

Hours of Business


08:00am – 17:00pm.

Visas

Lithuania is a member of the schengen area









Transport

Vilnius international Airport (www.vilnius-airport.lt)

is the principle airport for the country and it is

located 7 kilometres south of the city centre. it is

connected to the city via a train service.

the country’s main cities are connected via railways

services with timetable details obtainable from sC

Lithuanian railways (www.litrail.lt/wps/portal).





Invest in Bureau


the investment in Lithuania bureau:

www.lda.lt


litHuAniA

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Lithuania

litHuAniATypical Lease Terms















only.

































the property.




of the landlord.


Brokerage Law





Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:




















charge.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Lithuania

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees





contracted agent.







purchase price.


fees.


Duty): there is no property

transfer tax in Lithuania.


rate in Lithuania is 18% and most



•

•

•























Holidays





Acknowledgement






litHuAniA


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Lithuania

Country Statistics

population (thousands) 469



Local currency euro

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 6.4 5.2 -0.9 -5.0

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) 14,610 -61,915 -25,521 2,693








Major Cities


Luxembourg City 77,400



luxEMbouRg

Luxembourg

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Luxembourg

Political Structure

the Grand duchy of Luxembourg is a constitutional

hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system

of government. notional executive power authority

lies with the Grand duke but actual executive

authority lies with the prime Minister and the

cabinet in parliament. the unicameral legislative

assembly is called the Chamber of deputies

(Chambre des députés).

Legal Structure

Luxembourg’s legal structure is based on civil law

system and consists of judicial courts and tribunals.

these include three lower tribunals, 2 district courts

and supreme Court of justice to deal with appeals

and cassation.

Hours of Business


08:00am–12.00pm, 13.00–17:00pm.

Visas

Luxembourg is a member of the schengen area









Transport

Luxembourg airport (www.lux-airport.lu) is the main

airport for Luxembourg and located about 6

kilometres to the north east of the city centre. it is

linked via bus and taxi.

Luxembourg City is linked by rail to most major

european countries, with short connection to

Brussels and then to eurostar for international

service. société nationale des Chemins de Fer

Luxembourgeois or CFr (http://www.cfl.lu/) is the

national railway operator of Luxembourg.




eastern standard time + 6 hour

Invest in Bureau


Luxembourg Board of economic development:

www.bed.public.lu


luxEMbouRg

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Luxembourg

Typical Lease Terms


leases in Luxembourg is the Act of

14 February 1955 and subsequent

amendments from 1987 and

1992.

Lease Length: the standard term

for regular occupation of leased

premises is 3, 6 or 9 years.



on the Cost of Living index

published by the local statistic

governmental body “stAteC” at

the anniversary date of the lease

contract. the indexation of rents

is never negative so the rental

price will not decrease even if

there is a deflation.




clients such as company statutes

and latest balance sheet.

Landlords usually accept a bank

guarantee instead of a deposit

equivalent to either 3 or 6 months

of rent, depending on the quality

of the tenant.



of tenure. the lease either

automatically expires and

renewals must be arranged

between the parties, or the lease

stipulates that, in absence of

reaction by the parties, the lease

is automatically renewed for

successive periods of one or three

years at the same conditions.


Many leases contain break

options, usually after 3 or 6 years

on longer leases, although this is

only market convention. these

options may be for either or both

parties and should generally be

exercised by registered mail at

least between six to twelve

months prior to the lease expiry

date.


the landlord is responsible for

major repairs, the details of which

are foreseen by the legislation.

Building maintenance and

insurance is paid by the landlord

and re-invoiced to the tenant.

tenants are responsible for

contents insurance and

maintenance of their premises.

(Almost triple net contract.)




landlord unless sublet to a parent

company of the tenant. Consent

should not to be unreasonably

withheld unless it has been

otherwise specified in the lease.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:


per square metre per month plus

VAt when applicable (15%) and

are paid quarterly or monthly in

advance.

service Charges: Building service



paid monthly or quarterly in

advance, based on a provisional

amount, which is adjusted once

the actual cost is known at the

end of the year.

Local Property Tax: this tax is




basis. this cost is often passed on

to the tenant via the service

charges or via separate invoice.

luxEMbouRg


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Netherlands

Luxembourg

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees


with the typical rate being

between 1 month rent to 15%

of the first year’s net rent.

Fees are paid by the landlord

or by the tenant depending on

whom the agent represents.


paid by the seller and


basis but is typically between

1–3% depending on the sale

price.

subletting – Fees are to be

negotiated but are usually the

same as the leasing fees

above or based on a



surrender of the lease.



property, the purchaser will be

responsible for paying a transfer

tax of 7.5–10.5% depending on the

city the object is located. this

may be recovered if the property

is sold again within 6 months.

•

•

•

Value Added Tax: VAt in

Luxembourg is currently at 15%

and is payable on all rent

payments (when applicable) as

well as professional fees and

letting fees.


Basis of Measurement: Gross

external Area (GeA) is the area of

a building measured externally at

each floor level.

Gross Area (GA) is the area of a

building measured from the axis

of the opposite wall (if no windows

in wall) for each floor level.



are usually offered with carpet,

suspended ceilings, lighting, and

air conditioning. partitioning and

upgrading of the office space is at

the cost of the tenant. All works,

installations and additions, which


premises during the lease, shall,

at the end of the lease or at the

end of renewal, belong to the

landlord, unless the latter should

demand the return of the

premises to their original state, at

the tenant’s cost.

Use of Space: space in

Luxembourg is most commonly

occupied as cellular offices or as a

mixed plan of offices and open

space for team areas.

Holidays

there are no times of the year in

which the speed of transactions


the period between Christmas

and new Year some offices may

be closed but generally firms will

remain open all year round.

Letting activity is usually dormant

during the month of August

(official construction work

holiday).

luxEMbouRg


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Luxembourg

Country Statistics




Local currency euro

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 3.4 3.5 2.1 -4.5

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) -39,277 86,079 9,906 3,201








Major Cities


Amsterdam 729,171

rotterdam 592,669

the Hague 440,919

utrecht 233,193

eindhoven 200,803



nEtHERlAndSAmsterdam

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Netherlands

Political Structure

the netherlands is a constitutional parliamentary

monarchy. the legislature of the netherlands states

General (staten Generaal) is bicameral and consists

of two chambers. the First Chamber’s (eerste Kamer)

function is to review legislation enacted by the more

powerful second Chamber (tweede Kamer).

Legal Structure

dutch legal structure is based on civil law system

with strong influences from French civil code. Civil

and criminal justice is organised around 61 sub-

district courts, 19 district courts, five Courts of

Appeal, and the supreme Court of the netherlands

as ultimate arbiter.

Hours of Business


08.30am – 17:00pm.

Visas

the netherlands is a member of the schengen area









Transport

the main international airport is schiphol

Amsterdam (www.schiphol.nl) that is located

15 kilometres south west of Amsterdam. there are

other airports at rotterdam and eindhoven.

the netherlands has extensive network of buses,

trams and underground trains in the main cities plus

a railway system that connects the whole country.

Amsterdam itself is served by eight stations of the

nederlandse spoorwegen (dutch railways) and

serves as an international train station for journeys

to Belgium, France, Germany and switzerland.

travel details for rail journeys can be obtained from

dutch railways (www.ns.nl). Amsterdam’s internal

Metro system is run by Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf

(GVB), a municipal transport company owned by the

city authorities (www.gvb.nl/english).





Invest in Bureau


the netherlands Foreign investment Agency:

www.nfia.com


nEtHERlAndS

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Netherlands

Typical Lease Terms

Legislation: the legislation

applicable to commercial lease

contracts is Book 7 of the dutch

Civil Code. the law broadly

distinguishes the following three

categories:

residential (not being

discussed further)

Business premises – retail

(shops, canteens, showrooms,

restaurants)

Business premises – other

(offices, other less-location

bound activities)

dutch law provides for better

protection mechanisms for retail

tenants compared to offices.

rationale is that retail activities

are heavily dependent upon their

location. As the law is not 100%

precise on all matters, it is

strongly recommended to seek

professional advice in case of

potential disputes on cancellations

or extensions of contracts.

•

•

•

the dutch Council for real estate

(roZ) has issued standard lease

contracts for retail and office

leases which are commonly used

by all brokers. these standard

contracts can be extended with

additional articles and clauses

that are either tenant-friendly or

landlord-friendly. professional

advice on this matter could save

future costs, mainly on

termination of a contract, but also

when the landlord plans

redevelopment activities.

Lease Length: the usual term for

regular occupation of leased

premises is 5 years. in practice

every duration is possible varying

from an infinite lease that is

cancellable at short notice to a

20-year plus lease.


usually the rent level is adjusted

annually, based on the Consumer

price index (Cpi), published by

the dutch Centre for statistics

(CBs). in practice, deviations

can be agreed upon, such as

fixed rents, capped indexation,

fixed indexation and variable

turnover rent.





and access to company

information. A bank guarantee of

(at least) 3 months gross rent

plus service charges are usually

required to complete the

transaction.

Rights of Renewal: the roZ

standard contracts are based

upon a first lease period, which is

to be specified. After expiration of

this lease period, the contract is

renewed automatically for the

same (or different) period, unless

the lease is terminated by the

tenant within a predefined term

before the first expiration date.

this termination period is usually

12 months, but could be different.

After the second renewal period,

the lease can be automatically

renewed or will have to be

renewed through negotiations.

dutch law is very flexible, and the

renewal right can also be

formulated as an option

exclusively for the tenant. older

contracts (before the roZ

standards became widespread)

can have different terms, rights

and obligations.

nEtHERlAndS


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Netherlands

nEtHERlAndSBreak Options and Terminations:

the formulation of the term

“renewal”, “extension”, “break

option” and “termination” is vital

for the interpretation of whether

it is an exclusive right for the

tenant, or for both parties. this is

especially important if the rent

level is significantly above or

below market level, or if the

property can be redeveloped.

Because of this importance of

formulation, it is advisable to

have the dutch language contract

prevail in the case of any disputes

but this is not mandatory.


the landlord usually is

responsible for external repairs

and the replacement of major

installations such as boilers,

HVAC and elevators. Building

maintenance (not replacements)

and insurance is paid by the

landlord and re-invoiced to the

tenant (service charges). tenants

are responsible for insurance and

maintenance of their assets. in

practice, deviations from the

above are possible, from a single-

net to a triple-net contract.

Subletting: usually the tenant is

not permitted to sublet the

premises without written consent

from the landlord. Consent should

not be unreasonably withheld or

unless it has been authorised in

the lease.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:


euros per square metre per

annum and are paid in advance on

a monthly, quarterly, or

(bi)annually basis.

Service charges: Building service



prepaid together with the rent in


amount. settlement occurs on an

annual basis.

Local property tax (“Onroerende

zaak belasting”): this tax is


legal market value (“WoZ-value”)

of the property and paid by the

landlord on an annual basis.

Water and sewage tax is payable

by the landlord and the charges

differ per region or municipality.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees


and subject to the length of

the first lease period and the

height of the annual rent. the

typical rate being between 12

-20% of the first year’s net

rent for contracts between 5

and 10 years. Fees are paid by

the landlord or by the tenant

depending on whom the agent

represents.

transactions – Freehold fees

are usually paid by the seller

and negotiated on a case-by-

case basis but is typically

between 1.5 – 2% depending

on the sale price and the

service package.

subletting – Fees are to be

negotiated but are usually the

same as the leasing fees

above or based on a



surrender of the lease.

•

•

•


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Netherlands

Real Estate Transfer Tax

(“Overdrachtsbelasting”): For

the purchase of a property, the


paying a transfer tax of 6%. this

may be recovered if the property

is sold again within 6 months.

Constructions to avoid transfer

tax are rare but not impossible,

though usually require a syndicate

of non-related investors.

Value Added Tax (“BTW”): VAt in

the netherlands amounts to 19%.

Leases are exempt from VAt, but

can be voluntarily subject to VAt if

the tenant is a VAt-paying

business. usually it is in the

interest of both the tenant and

landlord to apply for VAt-subject

lease, as the VAt on all property

related expenses and investments

is tax deductible for the landlord.

Banks and government

institutions are non-VAt

organisations and as such cannot

apply for VAt-lease. in those

cases, the lease generally is

increased with a certain

percentage for “VAt-damage”,

relating to historic investments,

maintenance expenses or both.

newly constructed properties

need to be leased subject to VAt

for a consecutive period of 10

years in order for the construction

VAt to be refundable. the tax will

be refunded upfront, but could be

repaid by the landlord if the

property is leased to non-VAt

tenants. this so called revision

period of 10 years revives fully

(for another 10 years) if the

property is sold before the end of

that period. tax consequences of

this revival can be immense, and

need to be checked for any

potential transaction where this

issue could be apparent.

provisions can be in place to

prevent revival from occurring.


Basis of Measurement: in the

netherlands standard (“nen

2580”) is applicable to define the

floor area of a property.

BVo (“Bruto Vloer oppervlak”)

– Measures to the outside of

the finished surface of the

outer walls and includes

everything within the walls.

nVo (“netto Vloer oppervlak”)

– Measures to the inside

finished surface of the outer

walls core areas.

•

•

VVo (“Verhuurbaar Vloer

oppervlak”)- this is the most

commonly used area for

calculating rent. it measures

to the inside finished surface

of the outer walls but does

not include core areas (lifts,

vertical penetrations, common

landings), atria, or areas with

less than 1.5 m headroom.



are usually offered with carpet,

suspended ceilings, lighting,

heating and mechanical and

electrical installations.

partitioning and upgrading of the

office space usually is at the cost

of the tenant, but this can be

negotiated.

retail properties usually

are leased bare, without any

interior provisions.

•

nEtHERlAndS


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Netherlands

Country Statistics




Local currency norwegian Krone

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 2.3 3.1 2.1 -2.0









Major Cities


oslo 505,167

Bergen 228,386

trondheim 148,023

stavanger 108,418



noRwAY

oslo

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Norway

Political Structure

norway is a constitutional parliamentary monarchy.

the hereditary monarch is head of state but power is

exercised through the norwegian parliament (the

storting) that is unicameral. Although unicameral, it

is divided into two chambers, the odelsting and the

Lagting. the Lagting’s acts as an upper chamber to

the odelsting lower chamber, where legislation

originates, but in practice the passage of legislation

is a combined act.

Legal Structure

norway’s legal structure is a mixture of civil law

system and common law traditions. the hierocracy

of norway’s regular courts starts with the district

courts at the bottom, city and county courts, the

appellate courts, labour courts (for industrial

disputes) and the conciliation councils (for mainly

civil disputes). the highest court is the supreme

Court.

Hours of Business


08:00am – 16:00pm.

Visas

norway is not a member of the eu but is a member

of the schengen area agreement and the european

economic Area. Holders of an eeA (eu Member

states, iceland, Liechtenstein and norway) or swiss






period exceeding 3 months that is applied for the

local police station in norway.

Transport

Aviation is an important means of transport

within norway given its shape and latitude so there

are around 98 regional airports, 50 of which are

public owned by the state operator Avinor. the main

international airport is oslo Airport Gardermoen

(www.osl.no/en/osl) that is located around 50

kilometres northeast of the city centre. Access to

the airport is by taxi, bus or by express train

(www.flytoget.no/eng).

the norwegian national rail Administration

(www.jernbaneverket.no) operates the network of

trains that connect the principle cities of norway.

timetables for passenger travel can be obtained

from state owned passenger company norges

statsbaner (nsB) (www.nsb.no/home). oslo itself

operates a network of tramways (www1.trafikanten.

no/) and a rapid transit system called the oslo

t-bane (www.tbane.no).





Invest in Bureau


the norwegian trade portal and innovation norway:

www.nortrade.com

www.innovasjonnorge.no


noRwAY

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Norway

noRwAYTypical Lease Terms

Legislation: Commercial

contracts are governed by the

real property Code, which mainly

aims to protect the rights of

residential tenants but it also

stipulates regulations for

commercial properties.

Lease Length: typically the term

of a lease is not specified and is

expected to be ongoing. Generally

the tenant and the landlord will

agree to an interminable period

whereby the lease will be

guaranteed. However, specified

terms of 5 and 10 years are

increasingly common.



Consumer price index.





or access to company information.

A deposit of 3 – 6 months gross

rent is typically necessary to

complete the lease.


has no right by law to renew the

lease but it is common to

negotiate an option to renew in

the lease.


in leases where the term is

specified, the lease automatically

expires and requires

renegotiation. in situations where

the lease term is not specified,

the lease term is considered to be

ongoing until either the tenant or

landlord gives notice of

termination as set out in the lease

terms. the landlord is not

allowed to terminate an ongoing

lease unless the tenant does not

meet its covenants. if the

landlord terminates the lease

prematurely he is liable for



Landlords are responsible for

external repairs and building

maintenance including technical

installations, surface of floors,

walls, and ceilings. the tenant is


insurance of the internal

premises.

Subletting: Generally, subletting


consent of the landlord and it

should not be unreasonably

withheld or delayed.


Brokerage Law

there is no requirement in

norway for agents to be licensed

or authorized in order to negotiate

real estate transactions.

Historically agents have

represented landlords only, but

recently corporate occupiers have

begun to utilize consultants to

protect their interests in

negotiations. it is always

advisable when dealing with

agents in norway to enter into a

written contract defining the

duties to be carried out by the

agent, including fees, deadlines

and scope of work.

“open bidding” sales are common

when a property is being sold. As

the name implies, all offers are

openly known by all interested

parties. this process is very

similar to an open auction. other

less common methods used to

sell property is a “closed bidding”

process and options for select

buyers to place offers.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:

Rents: rents are quoted in noK

norwegian Kroner on per square

metre per month basis and are

paid in advance on a quarterly

basis.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Norway

Service Charge: sometimes this is

quoted within the rental figure.

this includes heating, water,

electricity, cleaning of common

areas and snow removal based

upon a provisional amount, which

is adjusted once the actual cost is

known at the end of the year.

Local Property Tax: the local

property tax depends on the

geographical location of the

building. it is normally paid by the

landlord, but in some cases the

tenant covers this cost.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees


equal to 15% of the first year’s

net annual rent. typically

each party pays their

respective contracted agent.



negotiated depending on the

size of the property. typically

fees will be between 0.5% –

2.5%.


fees above, however, in some

cases sublease fees may be

increased.

•

•

•


Duty): during the purchase of a

property the purchaser will be

responsible for paying a stamp

duty equal to 2.5% of the purchase

price.

Value Added Tax: the VAt in

norway is 25 percent. Most

industries have a VAt duty; the

exceptions are the bank/finance

and the public sector. Landlords

should make sure that they are

registered for leasing and that the

tenants are VAt registered.

Other Taxes/Costs: A fixed price

of nK 1,850 is required to be paid

on all mortgages regardless of

the size of the mortgage.


Basis of Measurement: in norway

office premises are measured

from the exterior of the building

to the midpoint of subdividing

walls. the area used to calculate

rent will also typically include a

share of common areas such as

entrances, staircases, elevators,

and corridors.


Dilapidations: unless otherwise

agreed, when a tenant moves

from premises at the expiry of a

lease they are obligated to return

the premises to their original

condition.

Use of Space: in buildings

refurbished or constructed in the

‘70’s – ‘80’s premises utilize

cellular offices. recent demand

however has been for open

concept office premises or

premises containing demountable

partitioning systems.

Holidays

summer holidays, which are taken

from July to the second week of

August, create a period of slowed

activity and few transactions are

completed in this time. other

significant holiday periods where

transactions may become slowed

are over Christmas (2 weeks) and

during easter (8 days).

Acknowledgement






noRwAY


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Norway

Country Statistics




Local currency Zloty

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 6.2 6.7 5.0 -0.8









Major Cities


Warsaw 1,615,382

Łódź 803,375

Kraków 739,954

Wroclaw 637,232

poznań 577,523



polAndWarsaw

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Poland

Political Structure

poland is a parliamentary democracy with a

president as head of state who is directly elected to

serve a 5 year term. the polish parliament is

bicameral and composed of two chambers, the

higher chamber called the senate and the lower

chamber called the sejm where legislation

originates. poland also has influential regional

governments (sejmik) that administer the country’s

16 regions (Voivodships).

Legal Structure

poland’s legal structure is based on a mixture of civil

law (influenced by French Civil Law) and some

legacy Communist legal theory that is being altered.

the polish court system is a four tiered structure

that are based on regional (lowest level of the

judiciary), provincial and appellate divisions plus a

supreme Court

Hours of Business


08:00am – 16:00pm.

Visas

poland is a member of the schengen area









Transport

the principle international airport is Warsaw’s

Frederic Chopin Airport (www.lotnisko-chopina.pl)

that is located 10 kilometres south west of Warsaw.

Connections to the city are via bus service and taxi.

Warsaw has an extensive bus and tram service that

is run by the Warsaw transport Authority (www.ztm.

waw.pl). there are some suburban lines and rail

lines that connect Warsaw to other polish cities such

as Krakow and Gdansk. Warsaw’s rail strength is as

international rail terminus that connect routes

between western and eastern europe. Many rail

services european destinations to poland via the

railways run by the polish state railway (pKp)

(http://rozklad-pkp.pl).





Invest in Bureau


the invest in poland bureau:

www.paiz.gov.pl/index


polAnd

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Poland

polAndTypical Lease Terms

Legislation: the Civil Code

governs leases in poland.

Lease Length: typical leases used

in poland are 3 years (20% of all

contracts), 5 years (70% of all

contracts) and 10 years (5% of all

contracts)


rents are usually indexed

annually based on the european

union Consumer price index (Cpi)

if the rent is stated in euros or the

inflation index published by

Central statistical office of

poland if the rent is in polish

Zloty. sometimes the rent is

quoted in us dollars and is

indexed by us Cpi but rents in this

currency are not common

anymore.


Cash deposit or a bank guarantee

of 2 to 3 months (sometimes 6

months bank guarantee) of the

gross rent of the lease.

Rights of Renewal: Leases will

terminate at the date of expiry

and usually must be renegotiated.

if the option to extend was

previously agreed, then the

existing lease terms and rent will

continue for the new lease.


options are negotiable but a

period of at least 3 years length is

generally asked for. tenants

should be aware of notice periods

as options will expire and become

null and void if notice is not

delivered on time. in most cases

the penalty for early lease


negotiations and depends on



usually the landlord is responsible

for building maintenance,

insurance and technical

installations. the tenant is



Subletting: it is stated in the Civil

Code that the tenant may sublet

part or the whole premise to a

third party if the lease agreement

allows and the landlord agrees in

writing. if the subletting is agreed,

the tenant and the third party are

both responsible to the landlord

for using the premises as detailed

in the lease agreement. the

sublet will terminate at the date

of expiry of the lease agreement

between the tenant and the

landlord.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Poland


Brokerage Law

it is a legal requirement to have a

license in order to trade as a real

estate broker in poland.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:

Rents: rents are quoted in euros,

polish Zloty or us dollars per


paid monthly in advance in local

currency.


are quoted in euros, polish Zloty

or us dollars per month per

square metre in advance in local

currency. the parties usually

settle accounts every quarter or

half of a year.


by the landlord and included in

the service charges paid by

tenant.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees

Leasing – Fees are negotiable.

the usual rate paid by the

landlord is between 1 to 3

months rent. the fees paid by

the tenant are usually

between 0.5 to 1 month rent.


negotiable and are typically 1

to 2.9% of the purchase price.




property, the purchaser will be




property. in case of acquiring

shares of the company which

owns an estate, the buyer is

obliged to pay tax of 0.5% of the

value of the conveyance of shares.


poland is 22% and payable on all

forms of transactions including

rent, building service charges,

agents fees and notary costs. the

exception is the 7% VAt for

transactions real estate classed

as residential investments.

•

•

•


Basis of Measurement: net

Lettable Area or Building owner’s

and Manager’s Association

standard (BoMA). this is the most

commonly used area calculation

and is used for calculating the rent.

BoMA includes main usable space,

ancillary space such as toilets,

kitchens, separating walls, and

circulation space. Areas used for

technical use, structural walls and

elevators are excluded. A “gross-

up” factor of 5 to 12% may be

applied to the net Lettable Area,

particularly if the building is new.

tegova – teGoVA is a european

non profit making association

composed of 39 valuers’

associations from 24 countries

representing about 120,000

valuers in europe. it has published

european Valuation standards, at

present under the 5th edition,

referred to as eVs 2003. it

includes material on valuations

for securitisation purposes, the

effect of market shock, corporate

governance and much expanded

sections of the valuation of

agricultural properties.

polAnd


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Poland

the valuation report includes: the

instructions, time period,

identification, basis of valuation,

compliance statement, condition

of the property, environmental

issues, risk assessment, valuation

schedules, the treatment of

process plant and machinery, the

currency or currencies in which

the valuations are to be reported,

publication and confidentiality

clauses, third party liability,

taxation, financial liabilities,

model clauses for the valuation

certificate.




carpeting and partitioning as

standard and occasionally raised

floors with costs are borne by the

landlord. Finishing of the

premises is limited by a budget of

150 to 400 euros per square

metre if the finishing is from

“shell & core”. Amounts exceeding

the budget are borne by the

tenant.

When letting second generation

space, the landlord will generally







condition it was in when they first






lease. if the landlord wishes they

may ask for the premises to

remain in their existing condition.

Use of Space: Both open space

plan and cellular offices are used

in poland.

Holidays

the main holiday periods are the

first week of May, mid July to the

end of August, and the second half

of december.

polAnd


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Poland

Country Statistics




Local currency euro

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 1.4 1.9 -0.0 -4.1

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) 4,340 -671 1,392 1,113




AverAGe reAl WAGeS AnnUAl % -0.2 3.4 0.7 0.0




Major Cities


Lisbon 563,210

porto 273,060

Amadora 188,450



poRtugAl

Lisbon

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Portugal

Political Structure

portugal is parliamentary republic headed by a

president who is directly elected to serve 5 years.

the parliament is called the Assembly of the

republic (Assembleia da republica) and is

unicameral. Mainland portugal is organised around

municipalities and districts that have limited powers

but the islands of Madeira and Azores operate as

autonomous regions and have their own parliament

and administration.

Legal Structure

the portuguese legal system is based on civil law

with strong influence from French and German civil

law. the portuguese court system begins with courts

of first and second instance (to deal with civil and

criminal matters) and a supreme Court of Justice for

final appeals.

Hours of Business


09:00am – 13.00pm, 15.00pm – 19.00pm.

Visas

portugal is a member of the schengen area








period exceeding 3 months from a portuguese

consulate or embassy in the country of origin.

Transport

the three main international airports in portugal are

Lisbon portela Airport (www.ana.pt/) that is located

7 kilometres to the north of the city centre;

Francisco sá Carneiro Airport, oporto that is located

11 kilometres north west of the city and Faro Airport

4 kilometres west of the city. Funchal in Madeira and

the Azores are also connected via air.

Lisbon has a well developed bus and tram system

plus a metro system Metro de Lisboa for

transportation around the city. the Lisbon metro

consists of four lines that radiate out to the north,

northeast and northwest of the city. the metro is

run by Metropolitano de Lisboa (www.metrolisboa.

pt). General transport detail about Lisbon can be

obtained from transporlis (www.transporlis.sapo.

pt).oporto also has a bus, tram and 5 line metro

system that connects to the airport and is run by

Metro do porto (www.metrodoporto.pt)

the majority of the portuguese railway system is run

by the state operator Caminhos de Ferro portuguese

(Cp) (www.cp.pt) under the name Comboios de

portugal. the portuguese train system has express

links between Lisbon and oporto and to the Algarve

during the peak tourist season. Cp also operates a

regional train system that links other cities in

portugal. A regional train system operates

throughout the rest of the country linking up the

other major towns and there are international

connections to France and spain.



Coordinated universal time (utC)


Invest in Bureau


the portuguese Business development Agency:

www.investinportugal.pt


poRtugAl

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Romania

Portugal

Typical Lease Terms

Legislation: the “new law” that

governs leases is based on the

law n° 321-B/90 of 15 october

1990 and the “old law” that

covered older leases cannot be

utilized anymore.

Lease Length: the new regulation

does not specify a lease term per

se and considers leases to be

ongoing. there tends to be two

standard options of short term

with a minimum 6 months and

long term with a minimum of 5

years (3 years if signed through

investment funds).



on the official inflation index (the

state registered index published

in october).






deposit of 2 months net rent must

be paid when the lease is signed

and a bank guarantee is required

(usual value of 6 months rent).

Right of Renewal: on lease expiry

the tenant has no security of

tenure. At expiry of the term both

parties can terminate the lease. if

neither party terminates the lease

it shall continue for a further

period of one year.


under the “new law” the tenant

had the right to terminate the

lease subject to 90 days prior

written notice at any time. the

landlord did not have the right to

terminate the lease before the

end of the 5 year period. under

the “old law” the tenant was able

to terminate the lease with 6

months prior written notice but

the landlord could not terminate

the lease at any time unless the

tenant has breached the

covenants of the lease. the new

legal framework makes an

obligation for both tenant and

landlord to fulfil the contract

until its end without any

possibility to break before its end.



repair, maintenance and

insurance while landlord

obligations are main structural

repairs. Maintenance and

insurance is paid by the landlord

and re-invoiced to the tenant.




landlord, not to be unreasonably

withheld, or unless otherwise

stated in the lease.

poRtugAl


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Portugal


Brokerage Law

each agent must be registered

and have a formal license from

AMi (association of property

developers). in accordance with

the law, an agent must have a

registered listing in order to be

able to offer a property to a

tenant. By virtue of this listing,

the landlord authorises the agent

to sell or let the property.

there is no standard listing

document, however, some of the

issues that need to be included in

each listing include a description

of the property, the job task, price

or rent, duration of the listing

(usually 6 months with 3 month

renewal periods) and agency fees.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:







paid quarterly in advance based

on a provisional amount, which is

then adjusted once the actual cost

is known at the end of the year.

Local Property Tax (Autarquica):

this tax is assessed on a

percentage (1.1-1.3%) of the


is paid by the landlord on an

annual basis.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees


between 1 month net rent and

10% of the first year’s net

rent. the landlord typically

pays the agents fees.


the seller and negotiated on a

case-by-case basis depending

on the purchase price. Fees

are typically between 3-5% of

the agreed purchase price.


fees.




paying a property transfer tax

(“iMt”) of 6%, and the stamp tax

of 0.8%, both of which are based


property.

•

•

•


rate in portugal is 20% and is


transactions including service

charges and agents fees, but is

not paid on the sale or purchase

of freeholds. it can be possible to

elect to not charge VAt on rent.

this will vary from property to

property and will depend on the

legal status of the landlord.

Other Taxes/Costs: For the



notary fees.

poRtugAl


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Portugal


Basis of Measurement: in

portugal there is no official basis

of measurement. the following

terms are typically used to define

floor areas:

Construida – Measures gross

area including the shell of the

building. the “construida” is

equal to the sum of the areas

of each floor of a building,

taking into account the bare

exterior of the walls and the

finished floors. it encompasses

everything including, all

basements and attic spaces,

balconies, loggias and

accessible roof verandas. this

is most common basis for

calculating rentable area in

leases.

util – Measures net area

excluding the shell of the

building. the “util” is equal to

the sum of the office areas

excluding parking areas,

basements, attic spaces not

fitted out for residential or

professional activities, and

corridors.

•

•


Dilapidations: premises are

typically provided to tenants with

raised floors, mechanical and

electrical, and lighting but

tenants are responsible to

perform their own fit out. upon

lease expiry, the tenant is

obligated to return the premises

to the original condition it was in

upon initial occupancy. in

practice, if the improvements are

of good quality and are in good

condition, the landlord will

request they are left in the

premises.

Use of Space: office premises in

portugal tend to be utilised as

cellular offices.

Holidays


year in which the speed of

transactions are reduced due to

holidays (Christmas, easter and

summer holidays). in portugal, the

period from July through until the

end of August is a peak holiday

period. Many of the smaller

companies close down in August

whilst larger firms operate with

only a skeleton staff.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Jean Freval

of Fenalu for assistance in the

preparation of this country

review.

poRtugAl


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Portugal

Country Statistics




Local currency new Lei

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 7.9 6.0 7.1 -4.0









Major Cities


Bucharest 2,016,131

iasi 348,070

Constanta 342,264

Cluj-napoca 332,498

Galati 330,276



RoMAniA

Bucharest

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Romania

Political Structure

romania is a parliamentary republic with a president

as head of state who is directly elected for a five

year term. the romanian parliament is bicameral

and consists of the 332 seat Chamber of deputies

(Camera deputatilor) and the 137 seat senate

(senat).

Legal Structure

the romanian legal system is based on civil law

with influences from the French civil code. the court

system is hierarchical consist of local and around 40

county courts, 15 courts of appeal and ultimately

with the supreme Court, the Court of Cassation and

Justice.

Hours of Business


08:00am – 17:30pm.

Visas

romania is not a member of the schengen area








period exceeding 3 months from the romanian

Authority for Aliens.

Transport

the main international airport is Henri Coandă

international Airport (www.otp-airport.ro) (formerly

known as otopeni) located 12 kilometres to the

north of Bucharest. the other major airport is traian

Vuia international Airport (www.aerotim.ro) located

in timişoara in the west of the country.

Bucharest is the only city with a well developed

metro and suburban system. the Metro system is

run by Metronex (www.metrorex.ro) with other

public transport such as buses and trams run by the

semi-public regia Autonomă de transport Bucureşti

(rAtB) (www.ratb.ro) corporation.

romania has an extensive rail network connecting

across the country and internationally with train

service to Budapest, Vienna and Munich. the

principle rail operator is the state owned Căile

Ferate române (www.cfr.ro/) who also provide

travel details (www.mersultrenurilorcfr.ro).





Invest in Bureau


the romanian Agency for Foreign investment:

www.arisinvest.ro


RoMAniA

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Romania

Typical Lease Terms


lease contracts is based on the

romanian Civil Code. registration

of a lease contract to the

authorities of the Ministry of

Finance is mandatory. Leases

longer than 3 years should be

registered with the Land registry.

it is not compulsory to use

standard contracts; any form of

contract is acceptable as long as

it corresponds to romanian

legislation.

Lease Length: the average lease

is 5 years, although 7-10 year

leases are more common for

larger occupiers.


typically, rents are indexed

annually (upwards only) with the

european union Consumer price

index published by eurostAt,

both for Class A and B office

buildings. Alternatively the

parties can agree to increase the

rent by a predetermined amount.

the rent is reviewed if stipulated

in the initial lease.


Landlords typically require a

guarantee equivalent to 3 month

rent (cash deposit or bank

guarantee letter) from

prospective tenants upon signing

of the lease contracts.

Rights of Renewal: Most

contracts include renewal

options. unless an option to

renew was previously agreed,

leases will terminate at the date

of expiry. if an option to renew

was agreed, then the current

lease terms and rent will be

renegotiated.


Break options are uncommon

practices. tenants who

prematurely exit out a lease are

subject to heavy penalties.

the penalty for early lease


negotiation and depends on


exceptional lease agreements

allow the tenant to terminate the

lease without penalties under

very specific circumstances.

the landlord is not allowed to

terminate an ongoing lease unless

the tenant fails to meet its

covenants. if the landlord

terminates the lease prematurely

he is liable for compensation to

the tenant.




maintenance, structural and

common area repairs, electro-

technical installation repairs

inside the lease premises, as well

as other interior repairs not

caused by the tenant. usually the

maintenance expenses and

additional services, such as

security, central reception are

paid by the landlord and then re-

invoiced to the tenant or included

in service charges. the building

owner is also responsible for the

payment of insurance and local

property taxes which are passed

on to tenants through service

charges. tenant obligations are

internal repairs and general

maintenance within their

premises. the tenant pays for

third-party insurance.

Subletting: the tenant is


without change of use/destination

with the prior written consent

from the landlord who must not

unreasonably withhold

permission. the landlord is not

obliged to accept the subtenant

but in practice if the subtenant’s

covenant is strong, then the

sublet will generally be accepted.

RoMAniA


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Romania


Brokerage Law

Agents do not need to have a

license in order to practice in

romania. no specific

qualifications are required to be a

property agent. Agents may act as

a consultant representative of one

party (owner, tenant/purchaser)

or alternatively act as an

intermediary. previously signed

contracts are required for the

agent to charge a fee for the

services provided. it is always

advisable when dealing with

agents in romania to enter into a

written contract defining the

duties to be carried out by the

agent, including fees, deadlines,

and scope of work.

each party typically pays their

respective agent. on occasion the

landlords’ agent may sometimes

earn a fee of half a month’s net

rent from the tenant. the tenant’s

agent only earns fees directly

from the tenant. in general, if a

property is introduced to a

prospective tenant/purchaser and

viewed with the introducing

agent, then the tenant/purchaser

is legally obligated to pay the

agent a fee if an agreement on

that property is signed.

in case of exclusive

representation instructions

agents’ fees are paid exclusively

by the represented client.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:



are paid quarterly or monthly in

advance. rents are paid in local

currency romanian new Lei

(ron).




paid together with the rent

monthly/quarterly in advance.

service charges are based on a

provisional amount that is

adjusted once the actual cost is

known at the end of the year. All

service charges must be agreed

upon separately in the lease

agreement. these usually cover

maintenance of common areas

including: electromechanical

systems, cleaning, air

conditioning, gardening, building

utilities, 24 hour security and

daytime concierge. the landlord

typically invoices building

insurance and local property

taxes through the service

charges.


landlord and invoiced back to the

tenant through the service

charge. this tax is assessed on a

percentage of the notional value

of the building and paid by the

landlord on an annual basis.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees


with the usual rate ranging

between 10-12% of the first

year’s net rent. Fees are paid

by the landlord or by the

tenant depending on whom

the agent represents. For

larger or higher value


can be reduced as

appropriate.




basis depending on the

purchase price. Fees are

usually between 1–3% of the

agreed purchase price.



Duty): in case of asset deals

performed by individuals, the

seller pays a tax of 1-3% applied

to the value of the transaction,

depending on the value and the

ownership period. the highest

percentage of taxes is applied for

properties transacted in less than

3 years from acquisition date.

•

•

•

RoMAniA


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Romania

in case of asset deals performed

by companies, the income

obtained by the seller after the

dispose of the property becomes

part of the total income of the

company quarterly recorded. if

the company obtains a profit after

the deduction of the total

expenses, this will be subject to a

16% tax.

in both cases the parties have to

pay taxes to the national Agency

for Cadastre and Land

registration and the notary fees.

note: please note that the above

mentioned fiscal obligations are

based on the provisions of the

currently enforced Fiscal Code (as

at January 2009) which is

expected to be amended in the

near future.

Value Added Tax: VAt (19%) is

payable on rent and service

charges and is recoverable.


Basis of Measurement: Landlords

use gross internal area (GiA) in

square meters as the most

common method of area

determination and for calculating

the rent. GiA includes main office

usable space, ancillary space such

as toilets, kitchens, separating

walls and circulation space

exclusively located within the

leased premises.

on multi tenant buildings the

space occupied by the entrance

lobby, halls, restrooms and any

other common area are allocated

to all tenants pro-rata along with

the exclusive area occupied by

each tenant. Gross internal area

excludes staircases, elevator

shafts and non-load bearing inner

walls. outdoor terraces are not

included in the measurement of

the premises for the calculation of

rent for offices being quoted

separately (generally half of the

rent quoted for the usable area).



usually include: carpet, suspended

ceilings, raised floors, lighting and

wiring, heating, mechanical and

electrical servicing. raised floors

and centralized cooling systems

are generally standard in new

buildings. in a tenants’ market,

the landlord may assume the cost

of partitioning or a part of the

cost. in a landlords’ market, these

costs are usually borne by the

tenant.



furnishings that the tenant may







state. Fit-out costs for tenants’

specific requirements are not

provided by landlords. When

letting second generation space,

the landlord will generally




Use of Space: Cellular offices,

open plan floors and mixed plan

offices are all common in

romania. the most popular form

of premises is open space floors

for cost reasons and flexibility in

partitioning and use.

Holidays

summer holidays (mid-June-last

week of August) create a period of

slow activity and few transactions

are completed in this time. other

significant holiday periods when

transactions may be affected are

between mid december to early

January and during easter. there

are also a number of public

holidays stipulated in the Labour

Code: the 1st of May, the 1st of

december and two other religious

holydays.

RoMAniA


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Romania

Country Statistics


surface area (km²) 17,075,400


Local currency rubles

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 7.7 8.1 5.6 -5.0









Major Cities


Moscow 8,297,056

st petersburg 4,678,102

novosibirsk 1,400,328

nizhny novgorod 1,357,555

Yekaterinburg 1,267,393



RuSSiA

Moscow

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Russia

Political Structure

russia is a federal republic that consists of 83

regions. the head of state is the president who is

directly elected to serve a four-year term (this

structure is currently being revised). the president

has considerable executive power including

appointing the prime minister. the Federal Assembly

(Federalnoye sobraniye) is bicameral. the upper

House is the Federation Council (sovet Federatsii)

and the lower house, the state duma

(Gosudarstvennaya duma), which is the main

legislative organisation.

Legal Structure

russia’s legal system is based on civil law. the

russian judiciary has three branches that are

headed by the supreme Court, supreme Court of

Arbitration and Constitutional Court. the lowest

level of court in general jurisdiction is the municipal

court that exists in each city or rural district and

handles the majority of civil and criminal cases.

Commercial cases are heard in the arbitration court

system under the supreme Court of Arbitration.

Hours of Business


09:00am – 18.00pm.

Visas

Visas are required to visit russia that can be

obtained from the consular section of the

appropriate russian foreign embassy representation.

russia is not a member of the schengen area

agreement.

Transport

the principle international airports are at Moscow,

st petersburg and ekaterinburg. Moscow has two

main airports for international travel: sheremetyevo

(www.sheremetyevo-airport.ru), located

29 kilometres to the northwest of Moscow

and domodedevo (www.domodedovo.ru), located

34 kilometres to south of the city. Both are connected

to the centre of Moscow by express railway.

st petersburg’s pulkovo Airport (www.pulkovo.ru)

is located 17 kilometres to south of the city.

Both Moscow and st petersburg have efficient metro

systems that are the best way to get around the city.

the state run Moscow metro (http://engl.mosmetro.

ru) has the most comprehensive coverage and also

operates Moscow’s monorail system. st petersburg

has a well developed bus and tram system as well

its metro (www.metro.spb.ru in russian only)

Business travel around russia is best undertaken by

air given the size of the country, although the

Moscow train to st petersburg is a high speed link.

Most other transport around russia is undertaken by

train. Moscow has nine major rail termini for

suburban travel and cross country, and it is the

western terminus for the trans-siberian railway to

Vladivostok on the pacific east Coast. Moscow has

international connections to the Baltic states,

eastern europe, Austria, Germany, italy and Greece.

saint petersburg has international railway

connections to Finland and Germany.



russia has 11 time zones.


(Moscow) to + 10 hours (Vladivostok)

eastern standard time + 8 hours (Moscow) to

+ 15 hours (Vladivostok)

Invest in Bureau

other information can be obtained from the russian

economic Ministry’s (www.economy.gov.ru/index.

html) Foreign investment promotion Centre website:

www.fipc.ru/fipc


RuSSiA

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Russia

RuSSiATypical Lease Terms


leases is based on the russian

Civil Code.

Lease Length: typically 3-7 years

for offices and for warehouses it is

7-10 years.


rent increases are usually fixed by

annual rental indexation of

between 3 to 7%. the terms and

type of indexation are negotiable.






the security deposit guarantees

the execution of the tenant’s

obligations according to the lease

agreement. A deposit of 3 months

rent is required.

Rights of Renewal: the length

and terms of renewal are subject

to negotiation. if the tenant plans

to renew the length of lease

contract, the tenant is obliged to

inform the landlord with 6

months notice.


premature termination is possible

upon a mutual agreement

between parties and as provided

by applicable law. if the lease

agreement is terminated by the

tenant before lease term expires,

the lease deposit is taken by the

landlord as a contract penalty.


the tenant is required to use the

leased premises in accordance

with the lease agreement. this

includes using the equipment,

engineering and technical systems

in the appropriate manner and not

carrying out modifications to the

structural components of the

premises without a preliminary

written agreement with the

landlord. the tenant is bound to

pay the rent and other dues

according to conditions stated in

the agreement.

Any adjustment to rights and

obligations under the lease

agreement must have preliminary

written agreement with the

landlord. the tenant may not

sublease the premises or transfer

rights and obligations under the

lease agreement to another party

without permission. tenants may

not offer free use of the premises

or mortgage the premises. the

premises may not be used as a

deposit for an authorized capital

fund of companies or as a payment

of shares for co-operative.

the landlord is bound to hand

over the premises to the tenant in

good condition. the landlord is

obliged to carry out all minor

repairs, and if necessary, any

major repairs of structural parts

and engineering systems as a

whole.

Subletting: the tenant has the

right to sublease the leased

premises only after having signed

an agreement with the Landlord.


Brokerage Law

no specific qualifications are

required to be a property

consultant in russia. Brokerage

law is governed by the russian

Civil Code. in general, if a property

is introduced to a prospective

tenant who views it with the

introducing agent, then the tenant

is legally obligated to pay the

agent a fee if the tenant signs a

lease agreement on that property.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:

Rents: rents are quoted in us

dollars, euros or rubles per

square metre per year and are

paid quarterly or monthly in

advance.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Russia


are quoted in us dollars per

square metre per year and are

paid quarterly in advance.

Local Property Tax: Land tax is


notional value of the land plot

and is paid by the landlord on an

annual basis. this cost is passed

on to the tenant.

Acquisition Costs

usual acquisition costs that a



include:

Agents Fees

Leasing – Conclusion of a

lease arrangement on the

property results in the client

paying the agency a fee in the

amount of 10% of lease rate

per year. VAt is accounted

separately.

Freehold – Conclusion of

purchase contracts on the


paying the agency a fee in the

amount of 6% of the total cost

of the property. VAt is

accounted separately.

subletting – Conclusion of a

sublease arrangement on the


paying an agency fee in the

amount of 10% sublease rate

per year. VAt is accounted

separately.

•

•

•


Duty): When the real estate deal

is registered the state duty is to

be paid (7,500 rubles for a legal

body, 500 rubles for an

individual). usually the state

duty is paid by the party that

takes the rights.


rate in russia is 18% and is





transfer tax.



the following measuring

standards:

Bti standards for preliminary

permissions. this standard is also

widely used in regions and for

class C premises.

BoMA (Building owners and

Managers Association)

international standards for high

quality premises.


Dilapidations: Most premises are

delivered in shell and core

condition i.e. partially finished

open space. in some cases

suspended ceiling with lighting

and floor carpeting are included.

tenant fit out costs are partially

compensated by the granting of a

rent free period.



offices mixed with open spaces.

Holidays




reduced due to holidays. in russia

there are a number of public

holidays from the beginning to the

middle of January and also in

early May. Besides, the period

from July until the end of August is

a peak holiday period.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank elena

Galanova of AsterA Group for



RuSSiA


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Russia

Country Statistics

population (thousands) 7,498 (Census 2002)



Local currency dinar (rsd)

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 5.2 6.9 5.4 -4.0

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) 4387 2524 2700 1300








Major Cities


Belgrade 1,576,124

novi sad 261,121

nis 245,182

Kragujevac 176,743

Kraljevo 122,987

sources: rapublic statistic office


SERbiA

Belgrade

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Serbia

Political Structure

serbia is a parliamentary republic with a directly

elected president as head of state who serves a 4

year term. it proclaimed independency 5th of June

2006. the primary legislative body, the parliament,

is unicameral and called the national Assembly

(narodna skupstina).

Legal Structure

serbia’s civil and criminal law is based on roman

civil law although the judiciary is independent and

has equal status with the legislative and executive

branches. the judicial system is managed by the

supreme Judicial Council and consists of regional

courts, district courts, and the supreme courts of

cassation for civil and criminal appeals.

Hours of Business

Businesses usually open around 08:00 and 09:00am

and close around 17:00 and 18:00pm.

Visas

serbia is a non – eu member, so it needs a Visa for

its citizens wishing to travel to eu, but also for major

countries in the World. According to the latest

announcements from the Brussels, it is expected for

serbia to be on “White schengen List” from the

January 1st 2010. it doesn’t require Visa’s for an ex –

Yugoslav countries, except slovenia. Any foreigner

wishing to stay on the basis of an employment

contract must acquire a work permit from the local

Labour office.

Transport

national airport “nikola tesla” (www.airport-

belgrade.co.yu) is the main international airport with

more than 43 direct flights and is located about 15

km from the city centre. there is also another civil

airport “Konstantin Veliki”, located in the city of nis.

there are no direct rail services between serbia and

Western europe but there are daily services to

Budapest, Bucharest, istanbul and thessalonika. pan

european Corridor n° 10 is one of the most important

european highways passing through the country,

leading from salzburg through Belgrade and niš and

branching to Athens and sofia. Another branch of the

corridor links the Capital with Budapest.



Coordinated universal time (ut C) + 2 hours


Invest in Bureau


the invest serbia bureau (siepA):

www.siepa.sr.gov.yu


SERbiA

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Serbia

Typical Lease Terms


by the serbian Law on obligations

and Contracts / serbian state

Gazette issue no. 29/78, 39/85,

45/89, 57/89 and state Gazette

issue no. 31/93. there is no

special law concerning

commercial leases.

Lease Length: no minimum initial

lease length is legally prescribed

but the maximum lease length is

10 years. in practice, lease period

are negotiable. negotiation of 10

years lease is difficult as most

landlords do not feel secure and

prefer leasing for a shorter period.



on the Harmonized index of

Consumer prices (HiCp) published

by the serbian republic statistic

office. the basis of rent escalation

is freely negotiable and in the

past escalation using the eurost

At index of consumer prices was

not uncommon. it is not

uncommon, especially for big

companies with mostly office

space, to have rental adjustments

after 5 years on the basis of a

market survey of rents.


Generally a deposit of 2 to 3



contract.




agreed for a definite term may be

automatically renewed for an

indefinite period, if the tenant


after the end of the lease and

there is no objection by the

landlord.


Break options and termination of

lease contracts for a definite term

have to be negotiated between

the parties along with

compensation. Lease contracts for

indefinite term may be terminated

by any of the parties with one

month pre-notice.

in case of transfer of the leased

property on part of the landlord

(sale, liquidation, foreclosure,

inheritance) the lease contract

shall be valid and binding the new

owner if it is registered in the real

estate register with the

recordation Agency. if the lease

contract is not registered but has

a notary authenticated date of

signing, it shall be valid and

binding on the new owner until

either the expiry date or one year

following the property transfer

date. if the lease contract is not

registered or notary

authenticated, it is valid and

binding on the new owner if the

lease contract is for an indefinite

term.

Tenant and Landlord obligations:

tenant obligations are for internal

repair and maintenance whilst

landlord obligations are for

external and structural repairs.

there are no standards for

insurance clauses so most lease

contracts do not deal with it. But

it is common, especially for big

landlords with mostly office

space, to oblige the tenant to

obtain full property insurance for

the premise.

Subletting: Full subletting is

allowed only with the written

consent of the landlord. such

consent may be given in general

form as a clause of the lease

contract. partial subletting is

allowed without consent of the

landlord unless the lease contract

explicitly prohibits it.


Brokerage Law

there is no law or regulation of

the activities of real estate

brokers in serbia. Law is under

public debate it will introduce all

issues regarding real estate in

serbia.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:


euros per square meter per month

and are paid monthly in advance

either in eur or in middle rsd

exchange rate at the payment day.

SERbiA


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Serbia


charges for commercial leases is

3 euros per square meter per

month. usually service charges


the rent. For residential property,

fixed service charge is applied

only for modern buildings or

complexes that have

arrangements with a property

management company.

Local Property Taxes: there is

property tax in amount of 0.4% of

the value of the property and is

payable once a year.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees

Leasing – Fees are usually 1

month’s net rent plus VAt.


between 2% and 3%. For

reasonably large transactions

lower fees are negotiated,

depending on the size of the

property involved, the

particular market

characteristics at the time

etc., but even in these cases

fees below 1% of the

transaction value are

uncommon.


fees above.

•

•

•

Property Transfer Tax: For

purchases of property, a property

transfer tax is 2.5%.

VAT: VAt in serbia is currently


to VAt.

Other Taxes/Costs: to finalize the

purchase of a property a notary

fee is paid, determined on a scale

based on the purchase price.




measurement in serbia. For

leases, the premises are typically

measured based upon the built up

area stated on architectural plans

for planning approval. For

property purchases construction

companies imposed Gross Area as

basis of measurement, which

includes the built up area and the

proportional part of all common

space areas of the building, which

may reach even 10 – 20% of the

built up area of the premises.




associated with fit out. tenant is

responsible to repairing any

dilapidations, unless it is proven

that the damages are caused a

way that tenant may not be held

responsible by law or contract.


offices in serbia have tended to be

constructed as cellular offices.

recently, in newer buildings,

offices are predominantly open

space structure, providing the

possibility for the leaser to

organize the space according to

their needs.

Holidays

there are two periods during the



affected by holidays in August and

from orthodox Christmas till mid

January.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Jovan

Jovanovic of danos & Associates

for their assistance in the

preparation of this country

review.

SERbiA


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Serbia

Country Statistics




Local currency euro

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 8.5 10.4 6.4 -4.0









Major Cities


Bratislava 448,742

Kosice 241,811



SlovAkiA

Bratislava

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Spain

Slovakia

Political Structure

slovakia is a parliamentary republic with a president

as head of state who is elected by popular vote to

serve a five-year term. slovakia’s parliament is the

unicameral national Council of the slovak republic

(narodna rada slovenskej republiky).

Legal Structure

slovakia’s legal system is based on civil law with

influences from Austro-Hungarian codes. the slovak

judiciary consists of local and regional courts that

are subordinate to the supreme Court that acts as

the highest court of appeal.

Hours of Business


08:00am – 16:30pm.

Visas

slovakia is a member of the schengen area








period exceeding 3 months from the slovak embassy

in the country of origin.

Transport

the main international airport in slovakia is

Bratislava Airport (www.letiskobratislava.sk), also

known as M. r. Štefánik Airport, and is located 9

kilometres north-east of the capital. the other

international airport serving slovakia is Košice

international Airport (www.airportkosice.sk) located

6 kilometres to the south of Košice. Bratislava

Airport is connected to the city centre by train and

bus while Košice is bus only.

public transport in Bratislava consists of buses,

trolleybus and trams and is managed a the city

municipal company, public transport Company

Bratislava Ltd (dopravný podnik Bratislava)

(www.dpb.sk). Bratislava integrated transport

(Bratislavská integrovaná doprava) acts to link the

services to in the city to the suburbs and elsewhere

in the country.

Bratislava is connected to other cities in slovakia,

with the larger towns possessing more than one

train station. it also has international rail

connections to the Czech republic, Austria and

Hungary. trains are run by the state owned company

slovak republic railways (Železnice slovenskej

republiky) (www.zsr.sk) who also provide travel

details.





Invest in Bureau


the slovakian investment and trade development

Agency:

www.sario.sk/?home


SlovAkiA

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Slovakia

Typical Lease Terms


commercial leases is based on the

rent Act.

Lease Length: there is no

maximum term limit for leases

but 3 and 5 year leases are typical

in slovakia.


indexation of rents is specified in

the lease agreement. the

Consumer price index (index

spotrebiteľských cien) produced

by the slovak statistical office is

often used although foreign

indices such as the eu Consumer

price index may also be used.





either a deposit of 3–4 months’

net rent or a bank guarantee is


Rights of Renewal: if an option to

renew was not previously agreed,

the lease will terminate and must

be renegotiated.


Break options are negotiable but


periods as the options will expire

and become null and void if notice

is not delivered on time. some

lease agreements allow for the

termination of the lease prior to

the break option under the

condition of a penalty, subject to

negotiations and current market

conditions.










property is allowed but only with

the prior written consent of the

landlord. the landlord is not

required to approve the proposed

sublease although must give

reasonable grounds for denying a

sublease.


Brokerage Law


have a licence to trade as an

agent in slovakia. each party

typically pays their respective

agent. on occasion the landlord’s

agent will sometimes earn a fee of

half a month’s net rent from the

tenant or the landlord. the

tenant’s agent only earns fees

directly from the tenant.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:




sometimes negotiations result in

rents being paid monthly in

advance.



metre per month and are paid

monthly in advance.


by the landlord and billed to the

tenant via the service charge.

SlovAkiA


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Slovakia

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees

Leasing – 14 to 15% from one

year’s rent (equates to

approximately 2 months net

rent).

Freehold – 1.5% to 3% of the

sale price.



Duty): the property transfer tax

was cancelled in 2005. now it is

only the purchase price plus VAt.


slovakia is currently 19% and




fees, notary costs, and property

transfer tax.

•

•

•




practices:



Association standard (BoMA).

this is the most commonly










factor of 5 to 12% may be



building is new.


(Brutto Geschossfläche). this




area within.





partitioning as a standard.


conditioning is generally the

responsibility of the tenant. When

letting second generation space,

the landlord will usually assume

the costs of installing partitioning

according to a space plan

provided by the tenant.

•

•




condition it was in when they first

occupied the space, allowing for

standard wear and tear. tenant





lease. the landlord has the option

generally of leaving the premises

in their current condition.



Holidays




holidays. August and January tend

to generally be the main holiday

periods.

Acknowledgement






SlovAkiA


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Slovakia

Country Statistics




Local currency euro

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 3.9 3.7 1.2 -4.2









Major Cities


Madrid 2,823,667

Barcelona 1,454,695

Valencia 735,738

seville 695,266

saragossa (Zaragoza) 600,781


bnp pARibAS REAl EStAtE 1�0

SpAinMadrid

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Spain

Political Structure

spain is a parliamentary democracy with a

hereditary constitutional monarch as head of state.

spain is divided into 17 regions that have own

governments and administrative structure but with

different levels of autonomy. the supreme legislative

authority is the national parliament (Cortes

Generales) that is bicameral, consisting of the upper

chamber, the senate, and the lower chamber, the

Congress of deputies.

Legal Structure

the spanish legal system is based on civil law. At the

top of court system is the supreme Court that is

court of final appeal, followed by the Audiencia

nacional that deals with national level cases, the

Audiencia provincial that deals with cases at a

provincial level and the lowest level of the judiciary,

the unipersonal courts, which are judge run courts.

Hours of Business


09:00am – 14.00pm, 16:00pm – 20.00pm.

Visas

spain is a member of the schengen area agreement.



require a visa. nationals from eu-countries as well

as switzerland and Liechtenstein may also enter




exceeding 3 months.

Transport

the main international airport is Madrid Barajas

airport (www.aena.es) located 12 kilometres north

east of the city centre. Barajas airport is connected

to Madrid via Madrid’s underground system, the

Metro (www.metromadrid.es). Madrid also has a

light rail system called Cercanías (www.renfe.es/

cercanias). All of Madrid’s transport systems are

part of the Consorcio regional de transportes (www.

ctm-madrid.es).

the two largest operators in spain are the state

owned renfe operadora, the former spanish

national railway network (http://horarios.renfe.es)

that operates the broad gauge lines and

Ferrocarriles españoles de Vía estrecha or FeVe

(www.feve.es/) who operate most of the narrow

gauge railways.





Invest in Bureau

Further information can be obtained from the invest

in spain bureau:

www.investinspain.org


SpAin

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Spain

SpAinTypical Lease Terms

Legislation: the statue that

governs leases is based on the

spanish Civil Code and the 1994

urban Leases Law.

Lease Length: negotiable, but

typically 5 years.



on the Cost of Living index.

indexation clauses in leases

usually include an automatic

adjustment whenever the Cost of

Living index changes by a

predefined amount.






deposit of 2 months net rent is


in some cases, a bank guarantee

is required.


has no guaranteed security of

tenure. options to renew can be

negotiated with the length and

terms of such options being

subject to negotiations.


Break options are negotiable, but

tenants should aware of notice

periods otherwise terms can

continue automatically. in most

cases if the either party does not

give notice in advance as agreed,

the lease will automatically

continue for a previously agreed

period of time. some lease

agreements allow for the

premature exit of a lease under

the condition of a penalty. the

penalty for early lease

termination used to be the

equivalent of the total remaining

lease liability, but now it is usually

subject to negotiations and

depends on current market

conditions.




maintenance, structural repairs,

insurance, and technical




Subletting: Generally, subletting


consent of the landlord. the

landlord must accept the

subtenant if they have an average

covenant but is allowed to

prohibit subletting if the use of

the premises by a subtenant

substantially deviates from the

original use by the main tenant. if

not explicitly detailed in the lease,

tenants are able to charge higher

rents to subtenants then what

they pay to the landlord.

bnp pARibAS REAl EStAtE 1��

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Spain

SpAinLegal Environment Concerning

Brokerage Law

Agents do not need to be

registered to practice in spain.

the spanish Civil Code and the

spanish Commerce Code govern

spanish brokerage law. the agent

and tenant, or the agent and

landlord, typically sign a mandate

agreement or formal intermediary

fees recognition for professional

services. depending on the

structure of the transaction, fees

will be paid by either the tenant

or more usually the landlord.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:







paid monthly in advance along

with the rent.

Local Property Tax (Impuesto de

Bienes Immuebles): this tax is




basis.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees


between 8%-12% of the first

year’s net annual rent.

Freehold – Fees, paid by the

seller are typically 0.5-3% of

the purchase price

subletting – in a landlord’s

market, a subtenant would

pay fees to the agent

instructed by the main tenant

equivalent to 15% of the net

annual rent. in tenant friendly

markets, the main tenant

usually assumes part, or all,

of both the commission fees.

Property Transfer Tax (Impuesto

de Transmisiones y Actos

Juridicos Documentados

(ITPAJD)): the purchaser of a

building will pay VAt of 16% (7%

on new construction) of the sales

price upon first sale of the

building. When the building is sold

again, if the seller is a legally

registered company the tax will

be 16% of the sales price.

Alternatively if it is a private

individual who sells the building

then they will be liable to pay tax

(itp – impuesto de transmisiones

patrimoniales) at 7% of the

purchase price.

•

•

•

Value Added Tax: the current

VAt rate in spain is 16% and




fees and notary costs.

Other Taxes/Costs: to finalise a




of 0.5-1% of the purchase price.




practises:

net Area (supeficie util) –

this includes main usable

space together with ancillary

space such as toilets and

kitchens and parking spaces.

Gross Area (superficie

Construida) – this includes

the net area plus separating

walls, circulation space,

parking spaces and area used

for technical uses and

elevators. this is the most

commonly used area

calculation in leases.

•

•


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Spain







landlord. upgrading space to full

air conditioning is generally the

responsibility of the incoming

tenant as only a top cooling/fan

pipe system is normally installed

as standard in new buildings.




condition it was in when they had

first occupied the space. tenant



belong to the landlord.


occupy office space as open plan

space. the use and density of

space must be planned in

accordance to the Ley de

prevención de riesgos Laborales,

which is administered by the

Labour office. these guidelines

govern the distance from natural

light, position of a desk, position

of a pC on the desk etc. and must

be taken into account when

drafting a workspaces plan.

Holidays




reduced due to holidays. spanish

summer holidays are typically

taken in August. there are also a

number of public holidays during

easter in April/May, when many

people will take holidays for a

number of days.

SpAin


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Spain

Country Statistics




Local currency swedish Krona

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 4.5 2.7 -0.4 -5.5

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) 2,550 -15,129 5,691 -3,569








Major Cities


stockholm 743,703

Gothenburg 462,470

Malmö 257,574

uppsala 188,478

Linköping 132,500



SwEdEn

stockholm

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Sweden

Political Structure

sweden is a parliamentary monarchy. the

parliament (riksdag) is unicameral and consists

of 349 members who are elected to serve

four-year terms.

Legal Structure

the swedish legal system is a form of civil law but is

not codified like other countries. there are

significant influences from Germanic law and from

Common Law systems also with indigenous customs.

the swedish judicial system is composed of three

levels of courts. All criminal and civil cases are

initially held in district courts; followed by a court of

appeals and finally the supreme Court.

Hours of Business


08.30am – 17:00pm.

Visas

sweden is a member of the schengen area








period exceeding 3 months registered with the

swedish Migration Board.

Transport

the principal international airports serving sweden

are Arlanda Airport (www.arlanda.se) that is located

43 kilometres north of stockholm, and Göteborg-

Landvetter Airport (www.lfv.se/en/Airports/Goteborg)

located 25 kilometres east of Gothernburg.

Aralanda airport is connected to stocklhom by bus

and train service, Arlanda express (www.

arlandaexpress.com). Both stockholm and

Gotherburg have well developed public transport

networks. stockholm has a light rail and metro

systems as well as buses and is run by

storstockholms Lokaltrafik AB, (stockholm public

transport) (www.sl.se) on behalf of the council.

Gothenburg has a tram system plus light rail and is

run by Göteborgs spårvägar AB (www.sparvagen.

goteborg.se) on behalf of by Västtrafik (www.

vasttrafik.se/en) the regional transport organiser

who also provide timetable details.

the rest of sweden is well by extensive train service,

although the network is most dense in the south of

country. Flying is an effective means of transport to

the north of the country. the train service is run by

swedish state railways (sJ) (www.sj.se) who also

provide travel details.





Invest in Bureau


in sweden bureau:

www.isa.se


SwEdEn

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Italy

Sweden

SwEdEnTypical Lease Terms

Legislation: Commercial lease

contracts in sweden are governed

by the real property Code, which

stipulates mandatory regulations

for commercial leases. swedish

lease contracts are short (2-4

pages) with appendices covering

details such as the indexation of

rent and service charges. the

association of property owners

have published standard

contracts for different types of

properties (hotels, shopping

centres, offices). it is not

compulsory to use the standard

contracts and any form of

contract is acceptable as long as

it corresponds to swedish

legislation regarding commercial

properties. Most companies

utilise the standard leases but

have their own standard

appendices. As most companies

are familiar with the standard

leases the negotiation process

tends to be shorter than in many

other countries in europe.

Lease Length: typically

commercial leases are for terms

of 3 to 5 years. When signing

leases in new projects or when

renting larger spaces the lease

lengths are normally for terms of

7 – 10 years.



Consumer prices index but require

the lease terms to be at least 3

years long. rental escalations

typically are adjusted according

to the index each year in october.






deposit or a bank guarantee is

seldom required to complete the

lease.


has a right of renewal, which is

governed by law. if the landlord

wants to terminate the lease

without a “passed” reason the

landlord has to pay damages to

the tenant. “passed” reasons are

reasons considered fair as

compared to normal market

conditions. if there is dispute

between the tenant and landlord

the tenant may request a

judgement from a rent tribunal

(Hyresnamnd) to determine if the

reason given for termination is

fair. the decision is not legally

binding but is normally agreed to

by both parties.


Break options are not common in

short term leases (3 – 5 years)

but do occur in longer term leases

(7 – 10 years). tenants should be

aware that 9 – 12 months notice

has to be served if the tenant

wants to change terms or

terminate before the end of the

lease period. the most common

termination periods are March,

september and december.


tenants are responsible for all

internal repairs and maintenance,

whilst landlords are responsible

for external repairs, maintenance

and insurance. the extent of

tenant responsibility can vary and

this is always negotiated when

signing a new lease.


is allowed, with the written

consent of the landlord, which is

not to be unreasonably withheld.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Sweden


Brokerage Law

the real estate Brokers Law

1995:400, with subsequent

amendments, governs brokerage

law in sweden and requires

agents to be university educated,

objective, and licensed by

Fastighetsmaklarnamnden. the

law deals primarily with

residential transactions however,

where agents act for both buyer

and seller, and does not apply

directly to commercial real estate

transactions where both parties

typically instruct different agents.

As a result, there are a number of

commercial agents that do not

possess a license.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:

Rents: rents are quoted in seK,

swedish Kroner, per square metre

per annum and paid in advance on

a quarterly basis.

Service Charge: this is sometimes

quoted within the rental figure

and includes water, cleaning of

common areas and snow removal,

but not electricity. Heating is not

included in the service charges

but is charged à conto.

Local Property Tax: this is

normally paid by the tenant as a

share of total rents in the

property or as a share of total

leaseable area in the building.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees


10%-20% of the first years’ net

annual rent (dependant on the

size of the property and the

geographic region). depending

on the structure of the

transaction, the fees will be

paid by either the tenant or

the landlord. When the fee is

paid by the tenant it is

normally set on an hourly

basis or a fixed fee.


the seller of the property and

are negotiable dependant on

the value of property. Fees are

typically between 2-3% of the

agreed purchase price for

properties up to seK 100

million.


the same as leasing fees

above but in some instances

fees are paid as a percentage

of the savings realised.

•

•

•


Duty): When purchasing a

property, the purchaser is

responsible to pay stamp duty

equal to 3% of the purchase price.


rate in sweden is 25% and is




fees, and notary costs.

Other Taxes/Costs: When

purchasing a property, if the

purchaser requires a mortgage

deed, a 2% mortgage deed tax is

payable (based upon the value of

the deed).


Basis of Measurement: the

Lettable Area is defined as the

area occupied by internal walls

and partitions excluding wall

thickness and external

projections. When there is a single

tenant building the normal

measurement is the Gross

internal Area, which also includes

stairwells, lobbies, corridors, etc.

SwEdEn


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Sweden


Dilapidations: offices are

provided based on the needs of

the tenant (the landlord will

expect to provide partitioning and

air-cooling). When vacating

premises the tenant is responsible

for reinstating the space to the

condition that it was in when they

had originally occupied it. Many

leases state that normal wear and

tear does not have to be

reinstated.

Use of Space: the majority of

offices built 1970 – 1980 are used

as cellular offices. since the late

1990’s many of those buildings

have been renovated and now are

open plan offices. Current demand

is for open plan offices as

efficiency and cost per

workstation is further scrutinised.

Holidays


year in which the speed of


holidays, normally activity slows

after mid-summer in June and is

closed during July. Activity does

not particularly start again until

the middle of August.

Acknowledgement






SwEdEn


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Switzerland

Sweden

Country Statistics




Local currency Franc

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 3.4 3.3 1.6 -3.6

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) -41,898 -8,954 -21 927








Major Cities


Zürich 337,553

Geneva 172,598

Basel 169,875

Bern 123,783

Lausanne 114,034



SwitzERlAndBern

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Switzerland

Political Structure

switzerland is a federal republic constructed from

a confederation of 26 states (cantons). the swiss

state is highly devolved with the federal authorities

having limited power. there is no head of state in

switzerland as such although the nearest equivalent

is the president of the Confederation. the swiss

parliament is bicameral, consisting of the national

Council that represents the whole population and

the Council of states made up of members from the

cantons. Legislation can be enabled by both houses

and is not vetoed by the executive but may be

challenged by citizens. As such citizen led

referendums are important legislative feature of

swiss democracy.

Legal Structure

switzerland’s legal system is based on civil law

system but is also influenced by local customs. the

judiciary operates at a commune, canton and federal

level, although principle administration of justice is

mainly a function of the canton.

Hours of Business


08.30am – 12.00pm, 14.00pm – 17:00pm.

Visas

switzerland is not currently a member of the

schengen area agreement though may join in 2009.


Liechtenstein and norway) passport do not require a

visa. nationals from Liechtenstein and the united



period exceeding 3 months. residency permits are

associated with job placements and have to be

applied for in the swiss canton in which the

company is located.

Transport

switzerland has international airports at Zurich,

Geneva and Basel. Zurich Airport (www.zurich-

airport.com) is located 12 kilometres north of the

city and is the largest by volume of air travel.

Geneva Cointrin international Airport www.gva.ch

is located 5 kilometres north of Geneva and

euroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg

(www.euroairport.com) is located 8 kilometres

north west of Basel.

switzerland has a very well developed public

transport network. Zurich canton is extremely well

connected with trains, buses, trams and boats that

are run by multiple operators under Zürich transport

network (www.zvv.ch/en) umbrella. Geneva’s public

transport is operated by transports publics Genevois

(www.tpg.ch/fr).

Given switzerland’s position in the Alps and at the

centre of europe it has good international

connections, especially to France, Germany and

italy. swiss Federal railways (www.sbb.ch/en) is the

state operator that runs the railway across

switzerland.





Invest in Bureau

Further information can be found from oseC, the

swiss umbrella organisation for foreign trade and

investment:

www.locationswitzerland.ch


SwitzERlAnd

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Switzerland

SwitzERlAndTypical Lease Terms


leases is based on the regulations

of the Codes des obligations/

obligationenrecht of 1911 as

modified on 15 december 1989

and subsequent amendments.

Lease Length: typical leases in

switzerland are for 5 years.


only in leases of 5 years or more

can the rent be adjusted annually

based on the Federal or Cantonal

Consumer price index as specified

in the lease. Leases of 3 or more

years can include fixed increases

at specified dates.






deposit or bank guarantee of 3-6

months rent is generally required

when the lease is signed.


expiry the lease will automatically

renew only if there is a right of

option. the renewal will be on the

same terms as the original lease

with the rent adjusted by the

Consumer price index (if allowed

by the original lease), unless

either the landlord or tenant

notify the other in writing within

the specified notice period. the

notice period is usually 6 or 12

months prior to the end of the

lease. it is possible to include a

clause that specifies that the

lease will automatically expire

unless notice to renew is given by

one party and accepted by the

other.


For both the tenant and landlord

a break or early termination can

only be operated in accordance

with the negotiated terms of the

lease. the tenant does not have

the right to cancel the lease

before the break option dates

unless prior agreement from the

landlord has been obtained. if

granted, this may be subject to a

penalty, the amount of which will

depend on market conditions and

agreement between the specific

parties.




insurance within their

accommodation while landlord


repairs, building insurance and to

keep the roof watertight. Land

taxes, maintenance and building

insurance is paid by the landlord,

but only maintenance (not plant

renewals) and additional services,

such as security, central reception

are invoiced to the tenant.

Subletting: According to

regulations of the Codes des

obligations/obligationsrecht, the

tenant is permitted to sublet the

lease with written consent from

the landlord. Any profit rent

premium must be offered to the

landlord.


Brokerage Law



consultant in switzerland.

Brokerage Law is strictly

controlled by the Code des

obligations/obligationenrecht. Any

introduction made by that agent,

provided that it is first made by an

agent and not another, that leads

to a successful transaction will

then result in an obligation by the

client to pay fees.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Switzerland

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:

Rents: rents are normally quoted

in swiss Francs per square metre

per annum and are paid either

monthly or quarterly in advance.


are quoted in swiss Francs per


paid with the rent either monthly

or quarterly in advance, based on

a provisional amount, which is

then adjusted once the actual cost

is known at the end of the year.

Local property tax (impôt

Foncier/Liegenschaftssteuer): this

tax is assessed on the basis of

rental value of the building, as

assessed by the Cantonal valuer,

using strict criteria laid down by

law, and paid by the landlord on

an annual basis. depending upon

the canton, the cost may or may

not be passed on to the tenant.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees


10-15% of the first year’s net

rent. the fees are paid either

by the tenant or landlord

depending on the transaction.

third party cost such as

brochures, advertising, direct

marketing, banners are

incorporated in this cost.

Freehold – Fees are paid

either by the seller or the

buyer, depending on the

transaction, and negotiated




between 3-5% of the agreed

purchase price.


10-15 % of the first year’s net

rent (inclusive of the value

agreed on the sale of any

fixtures and fittings). the fees

are paid either by the tenant

or landlord depending on the

transaction. official “fee

scales” are published in each

canton by the respective

property management agents

association.

•

•

•




registration cost and land

transfer taxes, notary fees, and

the other small expenses (stamps,

mortgage costs). the notary is in

charge of collecting these taxes.

these costs will vary from canton

to canton.


rate in switzerland is 7.6 % and

payable on most forms of

commercial transaction including

service charges and agents fees

but is not paid on property

acquisitions or the tax charged

thereon.


Basis of Measurement: in

switzerland, whilst general

definitions are provided by the

society of engineers and

Architects (siA), there are

variations from canton to canton.

the following terms are

commonly used to define floor

areas:

SwitzERlAnd


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Switzerland

Gross external (surface Brute

externe) – Gross areas

measured to the external face

of the external walls,

including the shell of the

building. Where a pitched roof

is constructed there may also

be a proportion of a

theoretical floor included,

depending upon the size and

pitch of the roof. it includes

basements and attic spaces,

whether they are fitted out or

not, balconies, loggias and

accessible roof verandas

(excluding street-level

verandas).

Gross internal (surface Brute

interne) – net areas excluding


gross internal takes into

account the bare exterior of

the walls and is equal to the

gross external after having

deducted basements and attic

spaces not fitted out for

residential or professional

activities (the attic spaces to

be deducted are considered to

be areas of which the ceiling

height is less than 1.50 m),

roof verandas, balconies,

loggias, and open areas

located on the ground floor

such as parking areas.

•

•

net (surface utile nette) –

net Lettable Areas. the net is

equal to the gross internal

after having deducted

staircases, lifts, vertical

ducts, corridors, toilets and

landings. Common areas such

as entrance halls or cafeteria

are added to the lease as a

proportion of the tenant’s

ease space of the total

building. in addition,

verandas, balconies and roof

terraces in the exclusive use

of a single tenant are also

normally added back into the

net area.



are usually carpeted with

suspended ceilings and

mechanical and electrical

servicing. Lighting and wiring is

usually done by tenant. raised

floors and cooling systems are

generally standard in new

buildings. in a tenants market the

landlord may assume the cost of

partitioning, or a part of the cost.

in a landlords market, these costs

are usually borne by the tenant.



furnishings that the tenant may







state.

• Use of Space: Companies occupy



Holidays

there are 10 official national

holidays (including easter and

Whit sunday). in addition to

national holidays, or instead in

some instances, there are

cantonal holidays. For example

the Canton of Geneva has Jeûne

Genevois that occurs on the

thursday following the first

sunday of september, and

restauration de la république on

31 december that has replaced

Boxing day. As a result of the

school holiday timetable, business

can be affected during February

and october when either one or a

two week break occurs, and in the

period from the beginning of July

to the end of August.

SwitzERlAnd


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Switzerland

Country Statistics




Local currency turkish Lira

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 6.9 4.7 1.1 -4.5









Major Cities


istanbul 8,260,438

Ankara 2,984,099

izmir 2,081,556

Bursa 1,066,559

Adana 1,041,509



tuRkEY Ankara

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Turkey

Political Structure

turkey is a republic with a president as head of state

who is elected by parliament to serve a 5 year term.

the turkish parliament, the Grand national

Assembly (turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi), is

unicameral.

Legal Structure

turkey’s legal system is based on civil law with

influence from various european countries. the court

system in turkey is judges only. the lowest levels of

courts are the civil peace courts and the courts of

first instance. the criminal courts are the courts of

first instance and the central criminal courts. the

state security courts deal with organised crime and

terrorism..

Hours of Business


08.30am – 17:30pm.

Visas

Visiting turkey usually requires a visa although the

requirements vary depending upon the country of

origin of the person visiting. three-month visas can

be obtained from the appropriate consulate along

with residency permits. turkey is not a member of

the schengen area agreement.

Transport

istanbul’s Ataturk international Airport and

esenboğa international Airport at Ankara are the

primary international airports. Atatürk international

Airport (www.ataturkairport.com/eng) is located 24

kilometres to the south west of the city centre, on

the european side of istanbul. esenboğa

international Airport (www.esenbogaairport.com) is

located 28 kilometres to the north west of Anakara

city centre.

istanbul’s public transport system consists of buses,

light rail and newly constructed tram and metro

system. details for rail travel can be obtained from

istanbul public transportation Company (www.

istanbul-ulasim.com.tr/en). other details can be

obtained from the municipal transport authority of

istanbul (www.iett.gov.tr/en/index.php). Anakara is

served by buses, light rail and a metro system run by

the electricity, Gas, Bus General directorate.

Most of turkey’s major cities and towns are

connected by rail services run by turkish state

railways (www.tcdd.gov.tr) who are currently in the

process of building a number of high speed links

between cities.





Invest in Bureau

Further information can be obtained from the

investment support and promotion Agency’s invest

in turkey website:

www.invest.gov.tr


tuRkEY

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Turkey

tuRkEYTypical Lease Terms

Legislation: the laws that

regulate commercial and

residential leases are Civil Code,

obligation Law, Condominium Law

and Law numbered 6570

Governing real estate Leases.

General regulatory rules with

regard to validity of a lease

agreement arranged under

turkish Civil Code numbered 4721

were changed in 2002. the

turkish Law of obligations” draft

statute comprises of significant

provisions on lease, has been

completed and has recently

adopted by parliament.

Lease Length: Most commercial

lease agreements in turkey are

signed for a 5 year term. For

shopping centers, this term

normally increases to 7 years for

most tenants (but for small sized

units usually 5 years) and

normally not be less than 10

years for anchor tenants.


parties are free to pre-determine

annual indexation rate. For turkish

Lira lease contracts, indexation is

generally based on Cpi.Foreign

currency payments may also be

subject to indexation, annually by

1-5 % or rates such as LiBor or us

Cpi. rent review usually happens

at the end of rent term.


the amount of deposit money is

not restricted by legislation.

parties negotiate the deposit

amount, taking properties of

leased premises, as well as other

variables into consideration. the

procedure in practice equates to

1-3 months rent. Bank letters or

bills of guarantee may replace

cash deposits in more major

leases.

Rights of Renewal: the option

to renew is usually for one or

more periods.


For the tenant a break or early

termination can be operated in

accordance with the negotiated

terms of the lease. if granted this

may be subject to a penalty, the

amount of which will depend on

market conditions and agreement

between the specific parties.

tenants may not have their leases

ended by the landlord.




insurance within their

accommodation whilst landlord


repairs and building insurance.

property taxes are paid by the

landlord.

Subletting: subject to the lease

terms, the tenant is only

permitted to sublet the lease with

written consent from the

landlord. Again subject to lease

terms, the tenant may be

permitted to sublease to sister

companies without prior consent

of the Landlord.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Turkey


Brokerage Law



consultant in turkey. Agents may

act as a representative of one

party or alternatively act as an

intermediary.

previously signed contracts are

required for the agent to charge a

fee for the services provided. the

turkish Law of trade governs the

agents’ activities.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:

Rents: rents are normally quoted

in turkish Lira or in us$ per


paid either monthly or quarterly

in advance. there is greater

tendency towards charging in

euros in recent years.


are quoted in turkish Lira per


paid with the rent monthly in


amount, which is then adjusted

once the actual cost is known at

the end of the year. service

charges are usually 10-15 % of

collected rent.

Local Property Tax: this tax is

assessed on the basis of values as

assessed by the special Valuation

Committees every 4 years and

paid by the landlord. the property

tax is charged annually by

municipalities at 0.1–0.6% of value

depending on the nature of

property and is payable in two

instalments (31 May and 30

november). this cost may not be

passed on to the tenant. the

tenant normally pays a minimal

amount of environmental tax to

the local municipality.

Withholding tax: Corporate

tenants are normally required to

pay withholding tax in the name

of the individual landlords. in the

case of corporate landlords,

tenants are required to pay VAt

instead of withholding tax. such

VAt is normally recoverable by

most corporate tenants.

Acquisition Costs




premises include:

Agents’ fees

Fees are agreed beforehand and

vary depending upon the

property, time of selling, level of

service and so on.


8–10% of the first year’s gross

rent. the fees are usually paid

by the tenant.

•

purchasing – Fees are paid

either by the seller or the

buyer, depending on the

transaction, and negotiated




between 1.5–2% of the agreed

purchase price.


Property Transfer Tax: the

acquisition of turkish property is

subject to 1.5% transfer tax. the

same charge will be applicable,

when the property is sold.


rate in turkey is 18% and payable

on all forms of commercial

transactions including rents,

service charges (if applicable),

and agents fees and property

acquisitions where the seller is a

company. the sale of residential

units of less than 150 square

metres is subject to VAt at 1%. VAt

paid for buildings and land may

be recoverable for corporate

buyers. VAt paid by individuals is

not recoverable.

•

•

tuRkEY


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Turkey


Basis of Measurement: in turkey,

the following terms are commonly

used to define floor areas:

Gross external – Gross areas

measured to the external face

of the external walls,

including the shell of the

building. this does not

normally include basements

and attic spaces, whether

they are fitted out or not, but

includes balconies.



are usually not carpeted and

without ceilings, separators and

lighting accessories (in a shell

and core condition). some of the

wiring, mechanical and electrical

servicing infrastructures are

provided. raised floors and

suspended ceiling systems are

generally standard in a small

number of new buildings. All

•

works, decorations, installation,

additions, and furnishings that


premises during the lease shall,



landlord, unless the latter should

demand the return of the

premises to their original state.

Movable furniture (desks, chairs)

may be removed by the tenant.




Holidays

there are 5 official national

holidays and two religious

holidays. school holidays consist

of two weeks in January or

February, and the period from the

beginning of June to the middle of

september.

tuRkEY


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Turkey

Country Statistics




Local currency Hryvnia

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 7.4 7.7 2.7 -10.0









Major Cities


Kiev 2,589,541

Kharkov 1,494,235

dnipropetrovsk 1,108,682

donetsk 1,050,369

odessa 1,002,246



ukRAinEKiev

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

United Kingdom

Ukraine

Political Structure

ukraine is a parliamentary republic with a president

as head of state. the president is elected by popular

vote to serve a five-year term. the unicameral

ukrainian parliament is the supreme Council

(Verkhovna rada).

Legal Structure

ukraine’s legal system is based on civil law. the

court system of ukraine has four levels and begins

with the courts of general jurisdiction that include

local courts and regional courts, regional appeal

courts, specialized high courts (the High Arbitration

Court and High Administration Court), and a supreme

Court for final appeal.

Hours of Business


09:00am – 18.00pm.

Visas

Holders of an eeA (eu Member states iceland,


require a visa. nationals from eu-countries (except

republic of Bulgaria and romania), as well as

switzerland and Liechtenstein may also enter




exceeding 3 months. ukraine is not a member of the

schengen area agreement.

Transport

the main international airport is Boryspil

international Airport (http://airport-boryspil.kiev.ua),

located 29 kilometres east of Kiev. it is connected to

the city by bus and metro. Within Kiev itself, most

public transportation is run by the state. the Metro

(www.metro.kiev.ua) [ukrainian only] is run by the

city municipal company Kyivsky Metropoliten. the

other methods of public transport, buses,

trolleybuses, trams are operated by the

Kyivpastrans. taxis are also an important means of

transportation in Kiev. other cities with metros

include Kharkiv and dnipropetrovsk.

there are some suburban train links in Kiev run

by the state train company, ukrzaliznytsia

(www.uz.gov.ua) [ukrainian only]. the ukrainian rail

network links the major cities of the country with

express links between Kiev and Kharkiv,

dnipropetrovsk and Lviv. there is also an express

train to Moscow.





Invest in Bureau


ukraine bureau:

www.investukraine.org


ukRAinE

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

United Kingdom

Ukraine

Typical Lease Terms


leases is based on the ukraine

Civil Code.

Lease Length: 3-5 years were

typical in ukraine in 2008. recent

years had seen an increase in

lease duration but the liquidity

crisis has changed this so that

tenants now prefer short-term

agreements of less than 3 years.


the terms and type of indexation

are usually negotiable. the most

common indexation is 3 to 5% per

annum. in international projects,

the rent is adjusted annually

based on one of european or

American indices, but tenants try

to avoid the item in the

agreement.


usually a deposit of 3 months

net rent is paid when the lease

is signed. Current financial

problems mean that tenants pay

for a deposit of 1 month or don’t

pay at all.

Rights of Renewal: the length

and terms of options are subject

to negotiation.


Landlords may terminate the

lease if there is non payment of

rent for three months.


tenants are obliged to deal with

internal repairs whilst the

landlord is obligated to handle

main structural repairs.




landlord. unless otherwise

specified in a lease agreement,

tenants are able to charge higher

rents to subtenants then what

they pay to the landlord.


Brokerage Law

Agents are required to have

specific qualification for carrying

out property valuation. other real

estate agent activities needn’t any

licenses.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:

Rents: rents are quoted in us

dollars per square metre per

month or euros per square metre


in advance. Quoting rents are

often given in hryvnias.


are quoted in us dollars per

square metre per month or euros



Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees

Leasing – up to 8% of annual

rent net of VAt

Freehold – 4-5% of the

purchase price

subletting – the same as

leasing


rate in ukraine is 20% and is





transfer tax.

•

•

•

ukRAinE


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

United Kingdom

Ukraine


Basis of Measurement: BoMA

standards are being increasingly

used by the landlords of

professional office buildings.


Dilapidations: new office spaces

are usually partially finished open

space (sometimes including

suspended ceiling with lighting

and carpeting on the floor). Air

conditioning is generally the

responsibility of the landlord. All

works, decorations, installation,

additions, and furnishings which


premises during the lease shall,



landlord.




the trend is that open spaces

become more attractive for

tenants. Cellular offices are

mainly occupied when small

spaces are required.

Holidays




reduced due to holidays. in

ukraine there are a number of

public holidays from the

beginning to the middle of January

and also in early May. Besides, the

period from July until the end of

August is a peak holiday period.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank elena

Galanova of AsterA Group for



ukRAinE


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

United Kingdom

Ukraine

Country Statistics




Local currency pound sterling

Economic Indicators

2006 2007 2008 2009


GDP AnnUAl % 2.8 3.0 0.7 -4.0

net Direct foreiGn inveStment (US$ millionS) 56,570 -44,140 -9,363 -19,045








Major Cities


London 7,074,265

Birmingham 1,020,589

Leeds 726,939

Glasgow 616,430

Manchester 430,818



unitEd kingdoM

London

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Political Structure

the united Kingdom is a parliamentary monarchy.

the monarchy is head of state but executive power

lies with the elected government. the united

Kingdom is a combination of 4 countries – england,

Wales and scotland (Great Britain) and northern

ireland. the uK parliament in London legislates for

the entire country on most issues, but scotland,

Wales and northern ireland now have some

governing powers over local policies like education

and health.

the uK parliament is bicameral and consists of a

lower chamber, the House of Commons that enact

legislation and an upper chamber, the House of

Lords, that reviews legislation.

Legal Structure

the united Kingdom’s legal system is based on

common law tradition with some civil law influences

(in scotland). there is no single governing law in the

uK because it is a composite state. separate legal

systems exist for scotland, northern ireland and,

england and Wales. in england and Wales the court

system hierarchy begins with the subordinate courts

consisting of magistrate and county courts for low

level civil and criminal cases. the second tier of

courts is collectively known as the supreme Court.

these consist of crown court, high court of justice

(civil and criminal appellate) and court of appeal.

the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords is the

highest court of appeal.

Hours of Business


09:00am – 17:30pm.

Visas

the uK is not a member of the schengen area


iceland, Liechtenstein and norway) passport do not

require a visa. nationals from Liechtenstein and the




Transport

the key international airports for London are

Heathrow (www.heathrowairport.com), the largest

international airport hub in europe, located 24

kilometres to the west of central London; Gatwick

(www.gatwickairport.com) located 45 kilometres to

the south and stansted located 48 kilometres to the

north. All are connected by high speed and

conventional train links to London.

London has an extensive underground metro system,

suburban rail and bus network that is mostly

operated under the direction of the transport

authority, transport for London (www.tfl.gov.uk).

uK cities are connected by rail network and the

larger cities have suburban rail connections.

Most of the transport is operated by private

companies. national travel information can be

obtained from transport direct

(www.transportdirect.info) or travelline

(www.traveline.org.uk).



Coordinated universal time (utC) +0 Hours


Invest in Bureau

Further information can be obtained from uK trade

and investment bureau:

www.ukinvest.gov.uk


unitEd kingdoM

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Typical Lease Terms


leases is the Landlord and tenant

Act 1954 together with various

ancillary legislation.

Lease Length: 15 year or 10 year

leases are typical in england,

although 25 year leases that were

common until the early 90’s still

exist.


rent will be subject to upward

only review. this is usually every

5 years but can be other patterns,

for example every 3 years, by

agreement. the new rent will be

agreed between the parties. if

agreement cannot be reached,

an arbitrator or independent

expert will be appointed to set

the new rent.






either a deposit of 3 months rent

or a bank guarantee are


Right of Renewal: Generally,

tenants have security of tenure by

law on expiry of the lease and can

apply for a new lease on similar

terms. Both parties can agree to

contract out of this protection.


options are negotiable depending

on the quality of the space. prime

new space will often only be

available on a 15 year lease

although a break at the 10th year

may be offered. in other instances

breaks at 5 year intervals can be

negotiated, but these may be

subject to payment of penalties.


When the building is entirely

occupied by one tenant, the tenant

will take on full repairing and

insuring obligations for the interior

and exterior of the building. in

multiple occupation buildings, the

tenant’s obligations are internal

repair, maintenance and insurance

while landlord’s obligations are

external repairs, maintenance and

insurance. the landlord will

charge these costs to the tenant

through a service charge.



consent of the landlord and

according to the detailed terms of

the lease. the tenant is normally

required to sublet at full market

rent even if this is higher than the

rent the tenant pays. tenants may

be prevented from subletting

below the rent payable and such

clauses should be avoided when

signing new leases. tenants may

also assign or sell their lease to

another tenant. in this situation it

is important to avoid “privity of

Contract” where there is ongoing

obligation for payment of costs

should the purchaser of the lease

enter into liquidation.

unitEd kingdoM


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

unitEd kingdoMLegal Environment Concerning

Brokerage Law

Commercial agents do not need to

be registered to practice in the uK

although most are members of the

riCs (royal institution of Chartered

surveyors). Brokerage in the uK is

governed by the estate Agency Act

1979 and the property

Misdescriptions Act 1991.

Brokers are normally appointed

by both sides (landlord and

tenant) in a transaction and each

side will pay their broker who will

generally act in an advisory

capacity. Fees will only be payable

by prior agreement and are only

enforceable by contract.

it is considered to be a conflict of

interest if the same broker

represents both the landlord and

the tenant. riCs regulations

require that both parties must be

notified if a conflict exists.

Occupancy Costs


by the tenant:

Rents: rents are quoted in pounds

sterling per square foot per

annum and per square metre per

annum, and are paid quarterly in

advance. Quarter days are

different between england/Wales

and scotland.

england/Wales

25 March – Lady day

29 september – Michaelmas day

24 June – Midsummer day

25 december – Christmas day

scotland

2 February – Candlemas day

1 August – Lammas day

15 May – Whit-sunday

11 november – Martinmas day

new scottish Quarter

28 February

28 August

28 May

28 november


charges are quoted in pounds

sterling per square foot per

annum and per square metre per

annum, and are paid quarterly in

advance with the rent.

Local Property Tax (Non-

Domestic Business Rates): these

taxes are assessed on a

percentage of the notional rental

value of the space and paid

directly by the tenant on a

monthly basis. they can equal up

to 40% of the overall rental

obligation.

Acquisition Costs




include:

Agents Fees

Leasing – Fees are usually 10%

of the first year’s net rent. For

larger or higher value


can be reduced as

appropriate.

Freehold – Fees are typically

based on 1% of the purchase

price. the percentage may be

increased for small properties

or reduced for larger

instructions as appropriate.



Duty Land Tax): For the purchase

of a property, the purchaser is



upon the purchase price of the

property. For a lease, the tenant is

responsible for paying a tax of 1%

of the value of the lease over the

full term of the lease. Leases with

a value of less than £150,000 are

not required to pay this tax.

•

•

•


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

unitEd kingdoMValue Added Tax: the current VAt

rate in the uK is 17.5% (reduced to

15% until november 2009) and is

payable on rent, building service

charge, agents fees and legal

costs. it can be possible to elect to

not charge VAt on rent. this will

vary from property to property

and will depend on the legal

status of the landlord.


Basis of Measurement: the riCs

Code of Measuring practice

governs the measurement of

buildings in the uK. this

document defines what should

and should not be included.

office Accommodation –

Measured on a net internal

Area (niA). Very simply, this is

the “carpet area” and

excludes ancillary area such

as toilets, staircases,

elevators, plant areas and

parking spaces.

industrial Accommodation –

Measured on a Gross internal

Area (GiA). this includes

everything within the external

walls of the building.

•

•


Dilapidations: the landlord

generally finishes new office

developments to a ‘Cat A’

standard. Cat A will generally

include raised floors with floor

boxes, comfort cooling or air

conditioning, carpeting, ceilings

and lighting in place. the tenant’s

fit out is known as finishing the

building to ‘Cat B’. this will

include the provision of internal

partitioning, cabling, security and

facilities such as reception areas,

post rooms, kitchens plus an

upgrading of the air conditioning.




condition it was at the start of the

lease (known as “dilapidations”),

subject to fair wear and tear. the

tenant will have to remove all

improvements made to the

property and reinstate to the Cat

A condition. if the tenants choose

not to do this work themselves, a

dilapidations estimate can be

agreed between building

surveyors acting for both sides.

this will be the amount to be paid

by the tenant in lieu of the

reinstatement works.


occupy office space either as

cellular offices for one or two

people but most often as open

plan space with a small number

of executive offices and meeting

rooms.

Holidays

the only period in the year when

holidays will affect the speed of

projects will be the Christmas

period from mid december to

early January. August is also a

holiday period but offices remain

open and operational during this

time. there are also a number of

public holidays that fall on

Monday; two are in May, one in

August and the Friday and

Monday at easter.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

CoMpARiSon oF lEASE tERMS And ConditionScoUntry rent

cUrrencytyPicAl leASe lenGth (yeArS)

rent PAyAble (in ADvAnce)

rent DePoSit StAtUtory riGht to reneW

bASiS of rent increASeS

freqUency of rent increASeS

AUStriA Euro 3 to 7 but may be unlimited

Monthly 3 month’s gross or bank guarantee

None Consumer price index Annual or when index reaches 5%

belGiUm Euro 9 Quarterly Bank guarantee None “Health Index” gezondheidsindex/indice santé

Annual

bUlGAriA Euro / Leva Up to 10 max

Monthly 1 to 3 month’s gross

None Bulgarian Harmonized Consumer price index or EU Consumer price index

Annual

cyPrUS Euro 2 to 5 Monthly 1 month net or bank guarantee

Statutory after 2 years of occupancy

czech rePUblic

Euro / US Dollar

5 Monthly/Quarterly

3 month’s net or bank guarantee

None EU consumer price index

Annual

DenmArk Danish Kroner

Indefinite Quarterly Bank guarantee None Consumer price index Annual or by preset amount

eStoniA Estonian Kroon

3 to 5 Monthly 3 to 6 months or bank guarantee

None Consumer price index Annual

finlAnD Euro 3 to 5 Quarterly 3 to 6 months or bank guarantee


frAnce Euro 3, 6 or 9 Quarterly 3 month’s net or bank guarantee

None Construction costs index (INSEE index)

Annual

GermAny Euro 5 or 10 Monthly 3 month’s gross or bank guarantee

None Consumer price index or compounded annually

Annual

Greece Euro 12 Monthly 2-3 month’s gross None Cost of living index Annual

hUnGAry Euro / US Dollar

3 to 5 Monthly/Quarterly

3-4 month’s net or bank guarantee

None Hungarian service price index or EU consumer price index

Annual or when index exceeds 2-3%

irelAnD Euro 20 to 25 Quarterly 3 months or bank guarantee

Statutory after 5 years of occupancy

Open market letting evidence and rent review

5 years

itAly Euro 6 Quarterly 3 or 6 months or bank guarantee

Statutory for a further 6 years

ISTAT cost of living index

Annual

lAtviA Latvian Lat 3 to 5 Monthly 3 – 6 months or bank guarantee


lithUAniA Lithuanian Lita

3 to 5 Monthly 3 – 6 months or bank guarantee


lUxemboUrG Euro 3, 6 or 9 Monthly/Quarterly

Bank guarantee or 3 or 6 months

None STATEC cost of living index

Annual

netherlAnDS Euro 5 Monthly/Quarterly/Biannual

Bank guarantee equal to 3 months

Automatic after expiration of ROZ contracts

Dutch consumer price index

Annual

norWAy Norwegian Krone

Indefinite but 5 and 10 years are common

Quarterly 3 – 6 month’s gross None Consumer price index Annual

PolAnD Euro / Polish Zloty

3, 5 or 10 Monthly Bank guarantee of 2-3 month’s gross

None EU consumer price index or Polish inflation index

Annual

PortUGAl Euro 5 Monthly 2 month’s net plus bank guarantee

None Portuguese inflation index

Annual


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

coUntry rent cUrrency

tyPicAl leASe lenGth (yeArS)

rent PAyAble (in ADvAnce)

rent DePoSit StAtUtory riGht to reneW

bASiS of rent increASeS

freqUency of rent increASeS

romAniA Euro/Romanian New Lei

5 Monthly/Quarterly

Bank guarantee equal to 3 months

None EU consumer price index

Annual

rUSSiA Ruble / Euro / US Dollar

3 to 7 Monthly/Quarterly

3 months None Type of indexation is negotiable but usually minimum of 3%

Annual

SerbiA Euro / Dinar Maximum of 10 years but usually shorter

Monthly 2-3 month’s gross rent

None Serbian harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP)

Annual

SlovAkiA Euro Indefinite but 3 and 5 years are common

Monthly/Quarterly

3-4 months net or bank guarantee

None Slovak or EU consumer price index

Annual

SPAin Euro 5 Monthly 2 months net or bank guarantee

None Cost of living index Annual or by preset amount

SWeDen Swedish Kroner

3 to 5 Quarterly Bank guarantee Statutory. Landlord must provide reasons for not renewing

Consumer price index Annual

SWitzerlAnD Swiss Franc 5 Monthly/Quarterly

3-6 months or bank guarantee

None Federal or cantonal consumer price index

Annual

tUrkey Turkish Lira / US Dollar /Euro

5 Monthly/Quarterly

1-3 month’s or bank guarantee

Statutory for at least one period

Consumer price index. If rent is in US$, US consumer price index

Annual

UkrAine Euro / US Dollar / Ukrainian Hryvnia

3 to 5 Monthly 3 month’s net None Type of indexation is negotiable but usually minimum of 3%

Annual

UniteD kinGDom

Pound Sterling

10 or 15 Quarterly 3 month’s or bank guarantee

Statutory on expiry of the lease

Rental review based on market evidence

5 years

Landlord and tenant obligations are generally similar for most countries. in France Belgium and portugal,

insurance is paid by the landlord and invoiced to the tenant.


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

CoMpARiSon oF tRAnSACtion CoStScoUntry leASinG freeholD SUblettinG ProPerty trAnSfer

tAxvAt other tAxeS/coStS

AUStriA 2-3 times gross monthly rent

1.5-3% of the purchase price

2-3 times gross monthly rent

Grunderwerbsteuer 3% Grundbucheintrag- ungsgebühr 1%

20%

belGiUm 15% of the first year’s gross rent

1-3% of the agreed purchase price

15% of the first year’s gross rent or savings

Regional registration between 10% to 12.5%

21%

bUlGAriA Half to 1 month’s net rent

2.5-3% of agreed purchase price depending on agent and location

Half to 1 month’s net rent

1.3% to 2.6% of the purchase price or the tax assessment value of the property whichever is higher. For Sofia the tax is 2.5%

20% Notary fee is paid based on the purchase price up to BGL 6000.

Registration fee of 0.1% of purchase price. Legal fee of BGL 700 for first BGL 100,000 of purchase price

cyPrUS 1 month net rent for a 2 year lease, a percentage of annual rent for longer leases

3% of purchase price

1 month’s net rent for a 2 year lease, a percentage of annual rent for longer leases

3-8% on the purchase price

15%

czech rePUblic

2 month’s net rent

1.5–2.5% of purchase price

2 month’s net rent 5% of purchase price 22%

DenmArk 15 % of the first year’s annual net rent

1 – 3% of purchase price

15 % of the first year’s annual net rent

0.6% of purchase price 25%

eStoniA 10–15% of the first year’s gross annual rent

1–4% of purchase price.

10–15% of the first year’s gross annual rent

No property transfer tax 18%

finlAnD 15-20% of the first year’s gross annual rent

1-4% of the purchase price

15-20% of the first year’s gross annual rent. Sometimes higher.

4% of purchase price 22%

frAnce 30% of the first year’s net rent

3-5% of purchase price

10-20% of annual net rent or percentage of savings made through early surrender

4.8 – 5% of purchase price

19.6% Notary fee of 0.825% if over 16,770 Euros. All taxes and costs are 6.5-7%

GermAny 3-4 month’s gross rent for leases over 5 years. 2.5-3.5 month’s rent for leases under 5 years


2.5 to 4 month’s gross rent

3.5 – 4.5 % of purchase price

19% Notary fee of 1% of the purchase price

Greece 1 month’s net rent or 10-12% of annual rent


1 month’s net rent or 10-12% of annual rent

9-11% for properties with approval pre 2006. Post 2006 VAT is applicable

19% Notary fee of 1.2 % of the purchase price. Legal fees of 1.2 – 1.5% of the purchase price

hUnGAry 2 month’s net rent

1.5–2.5% of purchase price

2 month’s net rent 10% of purchase price 20% Legal and notary costs of 0.5-1% of the purchase price

irelAnD 10% – 15% of the first year’s rent

1.5% of purchase price

10% – 15% of the first year’s rent

6% of purchase price 21.5%

itAly 10-12% of the net annual rent

1-2% of sale price 10-12% of the net annual rent or percentage of savings made

VAT (can be reclaimed) 20% Registration tax at a fixed amount of EUR 168; 1% cadastral tax; 3% mortgage tax


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

coUntry leASinG freeholD SUblettinG ProPerty trAnSfer tAx

vAt other tAxeS/coStS

lAtviA 10–15% of the first year’s gross annual rent

1–4% of purchase price


2% of market value of the property to a set maximum of 30,000 LVL

18%

lithUAniA 10–15% of the first year’s gross annual rent



No property transfer tax 18%

lUxemboUrG Between 1 month rent to 15% of the first year’s net rent

1–3% of sale price Between 1 month rent to 15% of the first year’s net rent or percentage of savings made

Between 7.5–10.5% depending on city (recoverable if property sold within 6 months)

15%

netherlAnDS 12 -20% of the first year’s net rent

1.5- 2% of the sale price

12 -16% of the first year’s net rent or percentage of savings made

Overdrachtsbelasting (transfer tax) is 6% (recoverable if property sold within 6 months)

19%

norWAy 15% of the first year’s net annual rent

0.5% – 2.5% depending on size of property

15% of the first year’s net annual rent but sublease fee may be increased

2.5% of purchase price 25% Fixed price of NK 1,850 is payable on all mortgages

PolAnD 1 to 3 month’s rent

1-2.9% of purchase price

1 to 3 month’s rent 2% of purchase price 22%

PortUGAl Between 1 month net rent and 10% of the first year’s net rent


Between 1 month net rent and 10% of the first year’s net rent

A property transfer tax (“IMT”) of 6%, and the Stamp Tax of 0.8% both based on purchase price

20% Purchaser will be responsible for notary fees.

romAniA 10-12% of the first year’s net rent


10-12% of the first year’s net rent

1-3% of purchase price 19%

rUSSiA 10% of lease rate 6% of purchase price

10% of lease rate State duty of 7,500 rubles for a legal body and 500 rubles for an individual

18%

SerbiA 1 month’s net rent

2-3% of purchase price depending on size of property

1 month’s net rent 2.5% of purchase price 18% Notary fee is paid, determined on a scale based on the purchase price.

SlovAkiA 14-15% of one year’s rent

1.5 to 3% of purchase price

14-15% of one year’s rent

VAT 19%

SPAin 8-12% of the first year’s net annual rent

0.5-3% of purchase price

15% of the net annual rent

VAT 16% Notary fee of 0.5-1% of the purchase price.

SWeDen 10%-20% of the first years’ net annual rent


10%-20% of the first year’s net annual rent or percentage of savings made

3% of purchase price 25% If purchasers require a mortgage deed, a 2% fee is required based on value of the deed

SWitzerlAnD 10-15% of the first year’s net rent

3-5% of the agreed purchase price

10-15% of the first year’s net rent

Transfer Tax is between 1–3% and Registration Fee is roughly 0.1%

7.6% Variable registration cost, land transfer taxes, notary fees depending on canton.

tUrkey 8–10% of the first year’s gross rent

1.5–2% of purchase price

8–10% of the first year’s gross rent

1.5% of purchase price 18%

UkrAine 8% of annual rent

4-5% of the purchase price

8% of annual rent 20%

UniteD kinGDom

10% of the first year’s net rent

1% of purchase price

10% of the first year’s net rent

4% of purchase price and 1% on lease value (only on leases over £150,000)

17.5%


Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

www.realestate.bnpparibas.co.uk

ABU DHABI

BAHRAIN

BELGIUM

DUBAI

FRANCE

GERMANY

INDIA

IRELAND

ITALY

JERSEY

LUXEMBOURG

ROMANIA

SPAIN

UNITED KINGDOM

USA

ALBANIA

AUSTRIA

BULGARIA

CANADA

CYPRUS

GREECE

JAPAN

NETHERLANDS

NORTHERN IRELAND

PORTUGAL

RUSSIA

SERBIA

UKRAINE

USA

Tim HarlowSenior Director – Client SolutionsTel: +44 (0) 20 7338 4155 Mobile: +44 (0) 7747 758 289e-mail: [email protected]

Elizabeth WheelerSenior Surveyor – Client SolutionsTel: +44 (0) 20 7338 4491 Mobile: +44 (0) 7825 114 778e-mail: [email protected]

OWNED OFFICES ALLIANCE OFFICES FOR MORE INFORMATION

Documents

BNPP RE European Handbook