What's a typical lease term in Shenzhen?

5 years for institutional Class A. Shorter terms are achievable on smaller floor plates with stronger covenants.

How is rent quoted in Shenzhen?

In CNY/sqft/year. We also publish a USD-normalised view ($40/sqft/yr) for cross-market comparison.

Net leases.

Typical lease length: 5 years.
Typical rent-free: 10 months.
Vacancy: 24.8%; trend softening.
Net leases.

Shenzhen office lease norms

Net leases.

TL;DR

Typical lease length: 5 years.
Typical rent-free: 10 months.
Vacancy: 24.8%; trend softening.
Net leases.

Structure

Net leases. 5-7 year terms standard. Free rent of 8-15 months and TI of CNY 1,000-2,000/sqm typical on a 5-year deal. Concession environment is rich.

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

city	Shenzhen
country	China
region	APAC
classARentLocal	290 CNY/sqft/yr
classARentUsd	$40/sqft/yr
vacancy	24.8%
typicalLeaseYears	5
typicalRentFreeMonths	10
submarkets	5
primeYieldPct	5.4%

Frequently asked questions

What's a typical lease term in Shenzhen?: 5 years for institutional Class A. Shorter terms are achievable on smaller floor plates with stronger covenants.
How is rent quoted in Shenzhen?: In CNY/sqft/year. We also publish a USD-normalised view ($40/sqft/yr) for cross-market comparison.

Editorial provenance

Reviewed by Kenji Watanabe — APAC contributing editor. Last updated 2026-04-15. See our methodology and editorial standards.

Primary sources for this page

CBRE Marketview reports — CBRE
JLL Office Insight — JLL
Cushman & Wakefield Marketbeat — Cushman & Wakefield
Savills World Research — Savills
Colliers Global Office Outlook — Colliers

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