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October 10, 2026 | by Michael Monday
In Paris the contract decides almost everything else: the term, the deposit, who fits out the space, and whether you need a local company to sign. This guide sets the three contract forms side by side and then covers what a company from abroad needs in place before it signs. Flexible space is quoted per poste (desk) per month; conventional leases are quoted per square metre per year, HT HC (before VAT at 20% and before charges).
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A contrat de prestation de services, not a lease and outside the Code de commerce rules on commercial leases. Monthly or six-to-twelve-month terms with one month’s notice. One all-in fee per poste covers rent, charges, utilities, internet, cleaning, reception and meeting-room credits; a deposit of one to two months is usual. TVA at 20% is added.
A twelve-to-thirty-six-month service contract for a dedicated floor the operator fits out and runs, priced per poste or per month. The route for teams of twenty and up that want their own space without a bail.
The standard commercial lease under the Code de commerce: nine years, with the tenant free to leave at the end of each three-year period on six months’ notice, and a statutory right to renewal at the end. Rent is quoted per square metre per year HT HC, indexed annually (ILAT), with charges, property tax and insurance usually recharged. A deposit of three months’ rent is common, fit-out and reinstatement are the tenant’s cost. A bail dérogatoire of up to three years is the short-term alternative without the renewal right.
| Flexible office | Managed office | Conventional lease | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract | Licence or membership | Operator agreement | Lease |
| Term | 1–12 months, rolling after | 12–36 months | Years, with a break if negotiated |
| Fit-out | Done | Operator, to your spec | Yours to fund and remove |
| Price basis | Per desk per month, all-in | Per desk or per floor per month | Rent plus taxes, service charge, utilities |
| Deposit | 1–2 months | 1–3 months | Several months’ rent or a bank guarantee |
| Time to move in | Days to weeks | Weeks to months | Months |
SquareFoot lists 123 flexible office centres in Paris from 3 operators, collected October 2026 from the operators’ own published pages. Guide written by SquareFoot; last reviewed October 2026.
No. It is a licence or service agreement for a fitted room with one monthly fee, usually one to twelve months and rolling after that. It gives no security of tenure and no fit-out obligation, which is the trade-off against a conventional lease.
Not for flexible space, which a foreign company can take on a service contract. A bail commercial normally needs a French entity; incorporating one takes two to four weeks and the operators’ domiciliation products provide the registered address.
The standard French commercial lease: nine years, with the tenant able to leave at the end of each three-year period on six months’ notice, and a statutory right to renew at the end. Flexible contracts sit outside it entirely.
Related: How to find office space in Paris · Where to put an office in Paris · Live listings in Paris
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