Does a Small Office Lease Need a Commercial Real Estate Broker? An Honest Test
A commercial real estate broker is not required to lease an office in Manhattan. You can call a building's listing agent and sign a direct lease. That is reasonable when you already know the building, the commitment is short, and an attorney will read the lease. It is a weaker position when you are comparing buildings or signing for years, because the listing agent works for the owner and you negotiate without comparable deals. Going direct often saves little, since in most transactions the landlord pays the broker fee. And the guarantee, escalations, deposit and buildout risk are no smaller on a small lease.
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Size up my small leaseUpdated 2026-10-03 · Nomad Group
When leasing a small office without a broker is reasonable
Run this test before deciding. Going direct is a fair choice when most of these are true:
- You know the building and its landlord already, for example you are taking a second suite on your own floor.
- The commitment is short: a sublease with a year left on it, or a furnished suite on a short term.
- A real estate attorney will read the document before you sign.
- Someone in the company has negotiated an office lease before.
It stops being reasonable when you are choosing between buildings, signing for three years or more, funding a buildout, or putting your own name on a guarantee.
What going direct means for an owner or office manager
Calling the number on the listing puts you in front of the listing agent, whose client is the owner. Three things follow.
- The advice you get is about that owner's buildings, not about the market.
- The agent knows what the building has agreed to on recent deals. You do not, so you are negotiating without comparables.
- Nobody restates the offer as a total cost over the term before you answer it.
A direct lease is simply a lease signed with the landlord and not with an existing tenant. You can sign one with or without a broker of your own.
Why skipping the broker often saves a small tenant little
The usual reason for going alone is to save the fee. But landlords typically budget for commissions when they price a deal, and in most transactions the tenant pays nothing out of pocket for its own broker. So the saving an owner expects from going direct often never shows up in the rent. Ask the landlord plainly whether the terms change if you come alone.
What does not shrink with a 3,000 square foot lease
The room is small. The obligations in the lease are full size.
- The guarantee. Expect the landlord to want a principal of a small company to guarantee the lease personally. The good guy guarantee is the common form.
- Escalations. Rent steps up each year, and operating cost increases are passed through above a base year.
- The deposit. Typically several months of rent, in cash or as a letter of credit, and more for a young company.
- Buildout risk. If the work costs more than the allowance, the difference is yours.
A small tenant also has less leverage to get a bad clause changed later. The block on this page is set to about 18 people, close to that 3,000 square foot example.
How to tell whether a broker works for you or for the building
Ask three questions. Who is your client on this building? Does your firm lease it for the owner? Will you show me buildings from other owners? A broker working for you answers all three without hesitating. Nomad works for you on your search, and it also offers agency leasing and owner representation, so put the same three questions to its brokers. How to choose a tenant rep broker has the fuller list.
Floors that fit a team of 18
Live from our listings · 6 of the 17, smallest firstA team of 18 plans on about 3,150 square feet at 175 a person. 17 floors on our book sit in the range that fits, 3,150 to 5,670 square feet, asking $50 to $135 per square foot per year.
- Floors
- 17
- Sizes
- 3,500-5,621 sq ft
- Asking rent
- $50-$135 / sq ft
- 110 Greene Street, Partial 5th Floor 3,750 sq ft $95/sq ft SoHo about 21 people
- 6 Greene Street, Entire 2nd Floor 4,900 sq ft $78/sq ft SoHo about 28 people
- 30 West 21st Street, Penthouse floor 5,250 sq ft $115/sq ft Flatiron about 30 people
- 104-110 Greene Street, Partial 11th Floor 5,375 sq ft $110/sq ft SoHo about 31 people
- 276 Fifth Avenue, 9th Floor 5,500 sq ft $52/sq ft Flatiron about 31 people
- 503-511 Broadway, Penthouse 5,552 sq ft $125/sq ft SoHo about 32 people
The full guide
This page is the short answer. The long one, with the numbers worked through, is here:
Related topics
- Tenant Representation: What It Is, What It Costs and What You Sign
- Tenant Representation Guide: What to Verify Before You Hire, Then the Four Steps
- Why Use a Broker for Commercial Real Estate, and What It Really Costs
- Commercial Real Estate Tenant Advisory Services: What Good Looks Like
Is a broker overkill for an office of ten to twenty people?
Usually not, because the paperwork does not scale down with the room. What a small requirement does change is the search: fewer tours, a shorter list and a faster decision.
Will a landlord lower the rent for a tenant who comes without a broker?
Sometimes, but do not count on it. A landlord's pricing usually already allows for commissions, so the number quoted to you directly is often the number a broker would have been quoted. Ask the question outright before you assume a saving.
If we go direct, what should we still pay someone to check?
The lease, by a real estate attorney: the guarantee, the escalation and operating expense language, restoration and the sublet clause. And the buildout, by a contractor, before you agree to an allowance. Both checks are worth paying for even on a small lease, and the attorney should confirm any legal point for your deal.
We are only renewing in our current building. Is that a case for going direct?
It looks like one, since you know the building and the landlord. But a renewal is a negotiation, and what moves it is an alternative you have actually toured and priced. Without one, the landlord's first offer is the only number in the room. Renew or relocate sets the two choices side by side.
Talk to a broker
Want this answered for your team?
Tell us three things: team size, timing, budget. A first shortlist can be ready within 24 hours, with the asking rent on every floor that publishes one.
- Within the houra broker reaches out during business hours, no automated triage
- On your sidewe work for you on your search, and the landlord usually pays our fee
- Open pricingasking rent published for 46 of 49 floors, size and address for all
- 300+ officesdelivered in New York, 2M+ sq ft leased
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