Space to Learn

If Covid has taught us anything it's that plans can change. One feature of the Serviced office market and the contracts used is that they are far shorter than the traditional direct lease agreements of the old days. With a shorter term agreement, your business has the option to change plans and up/downgrade a suite or cancel office rental altogether far more frequently than with a traditional lease.

Want to be super agile? Then work on a month to month agreement until you have more certainty and then upgrade to a 6 or 12 month term and realise some cost savings.

Once each month's rental period has begun, there are no refunds on cancellation of the remaining period of the month.

A full refund will be paid where reservations are cancelled over a calendar month before the scheduled move in date, or within 24 hours of the booking being made as long as the rental period has not begun.

If the rental period has not begun, and it's outside the above parameters, a 50% refund will be paid.

• Rubberdesk is a peer to peer marketplace for office space.
• Owners (Hosts) list office space for rent on Rubberdesk themselves for potential Tenants (Guests) to view and enquire.
• Through the Rubberdesk platform, Guests enquire and request viewings of office spaces. This allows Hosts and Guests to meet and ensure the space and people are the right fit.
• When both parties are happy to proceed, there are simple licence agreements to review and sign.

Rental periods are typically around 12 months in duration. This is far shorter than the average 5 year lease in traditional leasing market. Contract lengths can be as short as month to month rolling, however the longer the term the greater the discount and there are some bargains to be had for 6 or 12 months' commitment.

It's not just Coworking and Serviced Office Operators who rent out office space. Here on Rubberdesk we have all sorts of businesses who rent out office space, including:

• Finance companies
• Legal firms
• Architects and builders
• designers and artists
• startups
• Media and publishing
• Agencies
• IT and web development

Really any kind of business can rent out their spare office space.

Renting out office space isn’t what these companies do day to day, which is why we make it super easy for them to become a Host.

Serviced offices are quoted on a per month basis. Offices are quoted on month to month or, 3-, 6- and 12-month terms, with the best pricing typically available on longer term commitments.

Typically all inclusive, offices come fully furnished and ready for you to move into and get to work.

Some will include all outgoings and others might charge a small amount for use of meeting rooms or telephones and printing.

The price of a particular office shown based on a standard occupancy, meaning that if fewer people occupy the office the price remains the same.

It is free to list space on Rubberdesk. At Rubberdesk, we only get paid when you do, and our fees are 10% of the total contract value over the first 12 months. All fees are included in the prices shown on the site.

Check out the Membership Agreement for all the details.

It’s up to the owner of the space how much they want to charge.

Desks are individually priced and the booking amount is a multiple of the rate and number of desks. Private Offices are priced for the whole office and calculated based on the duration of the booking.

Hosts are required to insure their space for Public Liability during the time of rental. Guests are required to have business insurance during the time of their rent.

While Rubberdesk maintains its own required insurances – it makes no guarantees or provisions for insurances to any parties using the site or services.

Bonds and Security deposits are not managed through Rubberdesk.

Typically yes.

However, spaces can be listed as furnished or unfurnished at the discretion of the owner. We see a mix of requirements from Guests, but generally they look for furnished spaces. We find most Hosts are flexible in this regard if there is a particular need a Guest has.

If you have a special fit out required - talk to us and we'll find the right option for you.

Rubberdesk handles all payments.

Guests pay Rubberdesk when they book a space and Rubberdesk pays the Host directly by Electronic Funds Transfer to their bank. Hosts are paid on the first day of the booking.

When you book space through Rubberdesk, at the discretion of the Host, the Rubberdesk Standard Short Form Licence Agreement between the Host and Guest may be used.

This is a plain english document that explains the terms and conditions of use of the space a Guest is licensing the use of.

It is at the discretion of the Host as to use of the Licence, noting that the Host may well use an amended version of the Licence as no one standard agreement can cover all circumstances.

We strongly encourage Hosts and Guests to consider independent legal advice before using or entering into any legal arrangement (including use of the Licence), as well as considering in full the particular circumstances of their proposed space sharing. Rubberdesk accepts no liability or responsibility as to the use of the Licence (as is or amended) by either a Host or a Guest and use of the Rubberdesk website and all services provided by Rubberdesk are covered by the terms and conditions of the site available.

Use of the Rubberdesk website and all services provided by Rubberdesk are covered by the terms of use of the site and the Membership Agreement

If you’re a lease holder then the chances are that there is a clause around licensing out.

Ask your landlord for permission to licence the space through Rubberdesk, which:

• is a short term licenced use of space;
• is between you as the Host and the Guest;
• does not forego your obligations under your leasehold agreement or add other parties to it.

Landlords are generally very supportive of licensing deals which are much more favourable to them than sub leasing.

Freelancers, Small Businesses and Start ups are just some of those renting office space on Rubberdesk, but we also have corporates with remote offices who need a permanent office for their staff.

We have Lawyers, Digital Media and Marketing companies, IT and Technology firms, Marketing and Publishing companies, to name but a few, all renting office space through Rubberdesk.

They're a nice bunch, you'd like them.

Rubberdesk only makes money when people are happy and when rental deals are done - that's what keeps us on our toes and makes sure we offer an excellent quality of service and build the very best platform out there.

Our 10% fees are included in the prices shown and are covered by the Membership Agreement that all Hosts have entered into.

Nope, a Host can decline booking requests.

After all, it's up to the Host who they share their space with, and as a marketplace, it's a two way street where both parties have to be happy.

Depending on the space rented the savings are typically around half of what you might pay elsewhere. Rates vary and are set by the Host, but the average desk rate on the Rubberdesk platform is ~$510 per month.

Spaces that grow as you do.

When you rent office space by the desk – you only pay for what you use – so there’s no need to pay for an empty desk until you want to fill it.

There are no long-term leasehold agreements – this is flexible working the way you want it.

It’s up to the Host to decide what’s included, but typically Hosts provide:

• Desk and Chair
• Wifi Internet access
• Access to meeting room on adhoc basis if there is one.
• Electricity and outgoings.
• Fair usage printing

No one likes surprises – that’s why we encourage Hosts to provide an all in price for using the office space – so there are no surprises.

Always check the listing details and ask the Host.

When you're ready to go ahead and book an office, simply hit the “Book” button on the listing along with:

• Start Date
• Duration
• Number of desks required
• Card payment details

Rubberdesk gets payment authorisation on the booking amount and requests the Host to accept or decline the booking.

When the Host accepts the booking, we debit your account and hold the rent in a Trust Account. Then each month, we'll debit your account for another month until you instruct us to stop, and you no longer wish to rent.

(Should the Host decline the booking, no payment is processed and we'll send you a message.)

Yes you certainly can – and we encourage it!

Just hit the “Request a Tour” button on the listing and send a message to the owner to arrange a viewing.

We encourage all Guests and Hosts to meet before booking to make sure the space and the people are the right fit.

Coworking Desks are individually rentable and are often in open plan or shared areas. You pay for the number of desks you need to use each month.

Private Offices are rentable wholly and for the sole use of the Guest. You pay for the one office no matter how many people are in it (although that doesn't mean you can play sardines in it!).

We've put together the Rubberdesk Short Form Licence Agreement to cover renting of the space on Rubberdesk.

It's a plain speaking, easy to understand licence agreement that we think makes sense and describes what's being licensed out.

It is at the discretion of the Host as to use of the Licence, noting that the Host may well use an amended version of the Licence as no one standard agreement can cover all circumstances.

We strongly encourage Hosts and Guests to consider independent legal advice before using or entering into any legal arrangement (including use of the Licence), as well as considering in full the particular circumstances of their proposed space sharing. Rubberdesk accepts no liability or responsibility as to the use of the Licence (as is or amended) by either a Host or a Guest and use of the Rubberdesk website and all services provided by Rubberdesk are covered by the terms and conditions of the site available.

Use of the Rubberdesk website and all services provided by Rubberdesk are covered by the terms of use of the site and the Membership Agreement.

No. Hosts may decline or accept a booking.

On Rubberdesk, you're in control.

Any income that you earn by renting out your office space on Rubberdesk should be declared on your annual tax return, as is the case with all income from any source.

We recommend you consult with your accountant to understand your tax obligations and any tax deductions that you may be eligible for.

All prices shown on the website are exclusive of GST.

GST is calculated at the time of booking and added to the amount paid by the Guest.

Rubberdesk takes payment from the Guest directly at the time of booking and then pays out to the Host. Each month the Guests renew their booking through Rubberdesk and, each month, Rubberdesk pays the Host, less our fees.

• We’ll pay you for the duration of the booking less our fees after the Guest’s first day with you.
• We pay directly to your bank account - so be sure to tell us your details.
• We’ll send you a remittance advice as soon as you’re paid so you’ll have all the records to make your bookkeeper smile.

Check out the Membership Agreement for all the details.

It’s up to you how much to charge for a desk.

The average rate per desk across Australia on Rubberdesk is $510 per month, and the more competitively priced listings get the most enquiries and bookings.

We suggest you search for listings in your area for a guide to pricing. Remember a highly priced listing that doesn’t get booked is of no value, so we suggest pricing attractively for the Guest.

As an indication of what we’re seeing, here’s a chart of the rents being charged by the desk on Rubberdesk with the mean at $510 / month.

It’s up to the Host to decide what’s included.

Typically Hosts provide, (although each can choose what’s included):

• Desk and Chair
• Wifi Internet access
• Access to meeting room on adhoc basis if there is one.
• Electricity and outgoings.
• Fair usage printing

No one likes surprises – that’s why we encourage Hosts to provide an all in price for using the office space – so there are no surprises.

Always check the listing details and ask the Host.

You’re in the right place!

Here’s what you do:

1. Check with your landlord you are able to rent the space out
2. Hit List Your Space for Free

We’ll guide you through the process from there!

It really is super simple. Potential Guests can view your office and enquire, book and pay for it!

It is free to list space on Rubberdesk. Rubberdesk charges 10% of the total contract value over the first 12 months.

Check out the Membership Agreement for all the details

We're pretty flexible on image sizes you can use on Rubberdesk.

The best aspect ratio to use for images on Rubberdesk is 4:3 Minimum resolution size for images is 600px by 450px