German leases run 5-10 years with break rights.

  • Typical lease length: 7 years.
  • Typical rent-free: 9 months.
  • Vacancy: 8.4%; trend flat.
  • German leases run 5-10 years with break rights.

Frankfurt office lease norms

German leases run 5-10 years with break rights.

TL;DR

  • Typical lease length: 7 years.
  • Typical rent-free: 9 months.
  • Vacancy: 8.4%; trend flat.
  • German leases run 5-10 years with break rights.

Structure

German leases run 5-10 years with break rights. Rent reviews are indexed to the CPI (Verbraucherpreisindex). Tenant pays Nebenkosten (operating costs) on top of base rent. Cautio (security deposit) of 3-6 months is typical.

Negotiating levers

Free rent and TI remain the most negotiable line items; landlords prefer concessions to face-rent cuts because they preserve headline rent and implied valuation. Always model effective rent (face minus PV of concessions).

Key facts

cityFrankfurt
countryGermany
regionEMEA
classARentLocal55 EUR/sqft/yr
classARentUsd$60/sqft/yr
vacancy8.4%
typicalLeaseYears7
typicalRentFreeMonths9
submarkets6
primeYieldPct4.4%

Frequently asked questions

What's a typical lease term in Frankfurt?
7 years for institutional Class A. Shorter terms are achievable on smaller floor plates with stronger covenants.
How is rent quoted in Frankfurt?
In EUR/sqft/year. We also publish a USD-normalised view ($60/sqft/yr) for cross-market comparison.

Editorial provenance

Reviewed by Samuel Okafor — EMEA contributing editor. Last updated 2026-04-15. See our methodology and editorial standards.

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