Commercial and Retail Space for Rent Near You

What counts as commercial space

Commercial space is any unit you can trade from rather than live in: a shop with a window onto a street, a unit inside a mall or a station, a studio, a showroom, a basement with its own entrance, a former bank or garage that has been stripped back. The label matters less than three things, which are what the space can legally be used for, how long you can have it, and what it costs you to open the door.

Two routes exist and they are not the same product. You can book a space for a set number of days or weeks, pay for those dates and hand it back, which is how most short-term retail works now. Or you can take a unit on for months or years, which is a lease, with a deposit, a schedule of condition and the costs that come with occupying a building. Both are on this site and the search is the same; the commitment is not.

What commercial space for rent costs

Rent is quoted per day or per week for short bookings and per square foot or square meter per year for longer ones, which makes the two hard to compare directly. Location does more to the number than anything else. The gap between a main shopping street and a side street two minutes away is routinely a multiple, not a margin.

Four things move the figure most.

Footfall. You are buying passing people, not floor area. A small unit on a busy street will cost more than a larger one on a quiet one, and it will usually take more in sales.

Term. Short bookings carry a premium per day because the host takes the void risk between them. Longer terms cost less per day and more in commitment.

Condition. A unit that is ready to trade from costs more than a shell. If you were going to brand it out anyway, the shell can be the better deal.

Timing. Autumn is the tightest part of the year, because that is when the Christmas quarter gets booked, and each city's fashion and design weeks take the good space in their own window. January is the quietest.

Rent is not the only cost

Whichever route you take, rent is one line in a budget. Before committing, price the fit-out and strip-out, furniture and fixtures including a till and payment terminal, public liability insurance, staffing, utilities, and service charge or common area maintenance if the unit sits in a managed building. For a short booking several of those are already in the rate and the listing will say so. For a lease, almost none of them are.

Short term or longer term

Most brands arriving here want dates rather than a lease. A pop-up, a seasonal shop, a sample sale, a showroom during a buying week or a space to run an event from are all a matter of weeks, and the whole point is not signing for years to find out whether a street works for you.

A longer commitment makes sense once you already know it does. If you have traded in an area and it performed, a standard commercial term gets you a better rate and a permanent address. That market has become more flexible too, with more landlords willing to look at turnover-based rents in good locations than there were a few years ago. In London those listings are grouped together under shops to let, linked at the top of this page.

Where to look

Pick the city first, then filter. Each city page holds everything available in that market and lets you narrow by use, dates and size.

• Commercial space in New York

• Commercial space in Los Angeles

• Commercial space in London

If you know the city but not the area, the neighborhood guides go street by street on what each one is good for. If you would rather talk it through, the concierge team works with corporate clients on where to open and what to budget.

FAQ

What is the shortest time I can rent commercial space for?

A day. Most short-term listings take bookings from a single day, and a week or a month is the more common shape. There is no minimum term to negotiate because there is no lease.

Do I need a lease to open a shop?

Not for a short run. A booking is a license to occupy for agreed dates, which is why it can be confirmed in a day rather than a quarter. You need a lease when you want the space indefinitely.

How much commercial space do I need?

Less than most first-time retailers assume. Work back from what has to fit: a counter, a fitting area if you need one, stock, and room for people to move without queuing into the street. A small unit that is busy reads better than a large one that is not.

Can I use any commercial unit for retail?

No, and check this before you commit to anything. Use class in the UK and zoning in the US both govern what a unit may be used for, and changing it is a planning matter rather than a conversation with the landlord. Listings here state what the space is approved for.

What is the difference between retail space and commercial space?

Retail space is commercial space you sell from. Commercial space is the broader term and also covers offices, studios, showrooms and workshops. If you want a shop, search retail; if you are open to any unit you can trade or work from, search commercial.

Is it cheaper to rent by the day or take a lease?

Per day, a lease is cheaper. In total, that depends entirely on whether you would have filled the days. Paying for ninety days you use beats paying for a year to use ninety days of it, which is why testing first and committing second has become the normal order.