Legal items are general. Licences, NOCs and registrations vary by state and municipality and change over time. Treat the legal section as a list of questions for your CA and a local consultant, not as the final word.
1. Decide what you are selling before you pick a floor
A space built for freelancers on day passes looks very different from one built for small companies in 4-seat cabins. Decide your mix early, because it drives the fit-out, the pricing and the location:
- Cabins (private rooms of 2 to 10 seats) are the steady revenue. Most small spaces earn 60 to 80% of rent from cabins.
- Dedicated desks in an open area suit solo professionals who want a fixed seat.
- Hot desks and day passes bring footfall and leads but little revenue on their own.
- Meeting rooms and virtual office plans add income from the same floor without adding seats.
2. Location and the building
Members choose on commute, parking and food nearby, in that order. Look for a floor within a few minutes of a metro station or a main road, with parking for two-wheelers at least, and tea and lunch options within walking distance. Inside the building, check:
- Power backup (generator or inverter) and its running cost.
- Lift, if above the second floor.
- Washrooms per floor and who maintains them.
- Whether the building is approved for commercial use. A residential building converted informally will cause trouble with licences later.
- Air conditioning: central, split units, or none, and who pays for maintenance.
3. The lease with your landlord
You will sign a lease or leave and licence with the building owner, then licence cabins to members. Negotiate for:
- A rent-free fit-out period of one to three months.
- A long term (five years or more) with a short lock-in, and a clear escalation, often 5% a year or 15% every three years.
- Written permission to sub-licence space to members. Without it, your whole model is on shaky ground.
- Clarity on who pays property tax, society maintenance and major repairs.
Get it reviewed by a lawyer and, if the term is long, registered. The deposit to the landlord is typically six to ten months' rent in most Indian cities, which is usually the largest single cash outlay at the start.
4. Registrations, licences and NOCs
The exact list depends on your city. These usually come up:
| Item | From | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Business registration | MCA or state | A private limited company or LLP is common; a proprietorship works for very small spaces. |
| Shops and Establishment registration | State labour department | Usually required within 30 days of opening; covers working hours and staff. |
| Trade licence | Municipal corporation | Required in many cities for commercial premises; renew yearly. |
| Fire NOC | State fire department | Depends on floor area and building height; often needed for the building rather than your unit. Check what the building already holds. |
| GST registration | GST portal | Mandatory above the services threshold; most operators register from the start so business members can claim credit. |
| Professional tax | State | For your own staff, in states that levy it. |
| Signage permission | Municipal corporation | For an external board, in some cities. |
Also check whether your state needs a separate registration for the building's occupancy certificate to be valid for commercial use, and whether a music licence applies if you plan to play music in common areas.
5. Internet, power and the boring infrastructure
Internet is the one thing members will leave over. Sign a business ISP contract (leased line or a business-grade fibre plan) with a written uptime commitment, and a second, cheaper connection from a different provider as backup. Budget for:
- A router that handles a hundred devices, and access points so Wi-Fi reaches every cabin.
- A separate guest network for walk-ins and meeting room users.
- Enough power sockets: two per seat plus one per cabin for a printer or heater.
- An inverter or UPS for the network gear so the internet survives power cuts.
6. Furniture and fit-out per seat
A rough rule for a mid-range space in a tier-1 or tier-2 Indian city is 40 to 60 square feet per seat including common areas, and ₹15,000 to ₹35,000 per seat for furniture and basic fit-out, before air conditioning and civil work. Per seat you need a desk, a chair that survives eight hours, a pedestal or locker, and lighting. Spend on chairs and air conditioning first; both are things members notice daily.
Keep cabin walls demountable (glass partitions) rather than brick. Your cabin sizes will change as you learn what sells.
7. Pricing
Survey four or five spaces within 3 km and price just below the best-looking one until you are 70% full. A simple ladder works: a cabin rate per seat per month, a dedicated desk at roughly 60 to 70% of that, a day pass at about a tenth of the monthly desk, and meeting rooms by the hour and day. Decide the deposit (two months for cabins is standard) and the notice period (30 days) before the first enquiry walks in. Our guide to pricing rooms and desks has a worked example.
8. Software from day one
It is tempting to run the first ten members on WhatsApp and a spreadsheet. The problem is that the habits you form with ten members are the ones you still have at fifty, when they no longer work. Set up, from the first member:
- One place with every member, their cabin, their agreement and their deposit.
- Rent invoices that go out on the same day each month with a payment link.
- A booking page for meeting rooms that takes payment.
- A simple leads pipeline, so no enquiry is lost in a phone's chat history.
Coworking OS was built for exactly this stage by an operator who did it the spreadsheet way first. Whatever you choose, pick it before launch, not after.
9. Launch marketing that actually fills seats
- Google Business Profile with real photos, hours and prices. Most enquiries in Indian cities start with a search for "coworking space near me".
- A one-page website with prices, photos, a map and a WhatsApp button. Pre-launch, collect interest with a "founding member" offer.
- Listings on the two or three coworking aggregators active in your city; they take a commission, so push for direct bookings once you are known.
- Local outreach: CA and law firms, startups in incubators, remote employees of large companies, and the neighbourhood's own small businesses who are working from home.
- An opening offer such as the first month at 50% or a free meeting room hour bundle, with a deadline.
10. The first ninety days
Expect 30 to 50% occupancy in the first quarter and plan cash for six months of rent and salaries. Track occupancy, rent collected and enquiries every week. Ask every member who leaves why, and fix the top reason before you spend on more marketing. Breakeven for a 50-seat space typically arrives at around 60 to 70% occupancy, depending on your rent.
Checklist to print
- Product mix and target customer decided.
- Floor shortlisted; commute, parking, backup power and commercial approval checked.
- Lease signed with sub-licensing permission and fit-out period.
- Entity, Shops and Establishment, trade licence, fire NOC and GST sorted or in progress.
- Two ISPs, Wi-Fi coverage and power backup for the network.
- Furniture per seat ordered; chairs and AC prioritised.
- Price list, deposit and notice period fixed.
- Software set up with invoices, bookings and leads.
- Google Business Profile, website and opening offer live.
- Six months of cash in the bank.