Shop for Rent in Lahore: What to Check Before You Sign

A shop rental affects your income as much as your expenses. A good location with a poor agreement can still go wrong. This checklist covers what to look at and what to put in writing before you pay anything.

1. Location and footfall

• Visit on a weekday and a weekend, in the morning, afternoon and evening.
• Count people who walk past, not only cars.
• Look at nearby shops. A cluster of similar businesses can help or hurt, depending on what you sell.
• Check parking and how easy it is to receive deliveries.

2. Size, frontage and layout

• Ask for the size in square feet, and measure it yourself. Our guide to marla to square feet helps with units.
• Check the width of the frontage, the ceiling height and the room for storage.
• Check which floor it is on and how customers reach it.
• Ask whether a mezzanine, washroom or back door is included.

3. Utilities and building condition

• Electricity: whether the shop has its own meter and what type of connection it has.
• Water supply, drainage and washroom condition.
• Wiring, shutters, locks and any seepage.
• Fire exits and extinguishers, and whether the building has backup power.

4. The written agreement

Under the Punjab Rented Premises Act, 2009, a premises is a building or rented land that is not agricultural, so a shop is covered. The Act asks the tenancy agreement to state, among other things, the period, the rent, the rate of any increase, the due date, the use of the property and the amount of security. Our guides to registering a rent agreement in Punjab and the rent agreement format explain the steps.

• State the business use of the shop in the agreement.
• Write down the monthly rent, the advance, the deposit and when each is paid.
• Agree how and when the rent can increase.
• Say who pays property taxes, maintenance and utility bills.
• Say whether you can put up a signboard and make fittings, and who owns them at the end.
• Check whether you may sublet or hand the shop to a partner.
• Agree the notice each side must give to end the tenancy.

5. Money you may be asked for

Some owners ask for a large advance or an extra payment, sometimes called pagri or key money, on top of the rent. Never pay cash without a written receipt that says what the money is for, and ask how and whether it is returned. The Act's own list of agreement contents mentions security, so any such payment should be written into the agreement.

6. Check the owner and the papers

• Make sure the person you deal with is the owner or holds written authority from the owner.
• Ask to see proof of ownership.
• Ask whether the building has any pending dues or disputes.
• Take a copy of the owner's CNIC for your records.

7. Licences and approvals

Your business may need registrations or approvals depending on what you sell. We did not research these, so ask the relevant office or a lawyer before you commit to a lease.

What we could not verify

• Typical shop rents or advances by area. Compare listings on our commercial rentals pages.
• Licences, signage rules and utility connection rules for commercial premises.
• How the Rent Tribunal handles commercial disputes in practice.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws and procedures can change. For a specific situation, speak to a qualified lawyer or the relevant office.