---
title: "APAC leasing conventions: a city-by-city primer"
description: "What changes when you cross from a Singapore lease to a Tokyo, Hong Kong, or Sydney one — and how to plan for it."
canonical: https://classa.info/guides/apac-leasing-conventions
pageType: guide
lastUpdated: 2026-04-01T00:00:00.000Z
license: "CC BY 4.0 with attribution to Class A Atlas (https://classa.info)."
---

> Lease lengths vary materially: 3 years (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dubai) to 7+ (Tokyo, Sydney).

## TL;DR

- Lease lengths vary materially: 3 years (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dubai) to 7+ (Tokyo, Sydney).
- Reinstatement obligations are a major hidden cost in Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong — budget early.
- Australia uniquely separates face rent from effective rent; gross-vs-net is a non-issue.
- Stamp duty applies on lease execution in HK, Singapore, India.
- Bank guarantees and large deposits are standard across APAC; pure security deposits less common.

# APAC leasing conventions: a city-by-city primer

By The [Class A](/glossary/class-a) Atlas Editorial Desk · 2025-09-01T00:00:00.000Z · 13 min read

**What changes when you cross from a Singapore lease to a Tokyo, Hong Kong, or Sydney one — and how to plan for it.**

## TL;DR

- Lease lengths vary materially: 3 years (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dubai) to 7+ (Tokyo, Sydney).
- [Reinstatement](/glossary/reinstatement) obligations are a major hidden cost in Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong — budget early.
- Australia uniquely separates [face rent](/glossary/face-rent) from [effective rent](/glossary/effective-rent); gross-vs-net is a non-issue.
- Stamp duty applies on lease execution in HK, Singapore, India.
- Bank guarantees and large deposits are standard across APAC; pure security deposits less common.

## Lease length norms

**Singapore.** 3-5 years standard.
**Hong Kong.** 3 years (with [renewal](/topics/lease-renewal-strategy) option) for most Grade A; 6 years on the [trophy tier](/topics/trophy-asset-selection).
**Tokyo.** 5-7 years; fixed-term (teiki shakuya) is increasingly common for trophy assets.
**Sydney.** 5-10 years with a 30-40% incentive package.
**Shanghai.** 3 years with renewal option.
**Seoul.** 5 years (often 3+2).
**Mumbai.** 5-9 years (often 3+2 or 5+5).
**Dubai.** 3 years with annual escalators.

## Reinstatement: the hidden cost

Most APAC leases require the tenant to **reinstate** the premises to bare-shell or original condition at lease end. This is contractual and the dollar figure can be substantial:

- **Singapore:** SGD 30-60/sqft on a high-end [fit-out](/glossary/fit-out).
- **Hong Kong:** HKD 200-400/sqft on a high-end fit-out.
- **Tokyo:** JPY 30-60k/sqm (genjo kaifuku).
- **Shanghai:** CNY 200-400/sqm.

Provision for reinstatement from year one of the term. Some tenants negotiate to leave the existing fit-out — landlords may agree if the spec is broadly reusable.

## Australia's face vs effective rent

Australian commercial leases distinguish between **face rent** (the headline gross figure) and **effective rent** (face minus the value of the incentive package). Incentives in Sydney are now standardly 30-40% — a face rent of AUD 1,500 psm yields an effective rent of AUD 900-1,050.

This is unique to Australia in scale; New Zealand follows a similar convention. When comparing Australian deals, only effective rent is meaningful. When comparing Australia to other markets, normalise to effective.

## Stamp duty and registration

Lease execution triggers stamp duty in: Hong Kong (around 0.5% of total rent), Singapore (0.4% of total rent), India (variable by state — 0.5-2% in Maharashtra). Plan for it in the closing budget.

Dubai requires Ejari registration of the lease (a small administrative fee). Tokyo leases are not stamp-dutied at federal level but registration with the Legal Affairs Bureau is recommended for security.

## Editorial provenance

Reviewed by [**Class A Atlas Editorial Desk**](/about/authors/class-a-atlas-editorial-desk) — House byline · global editorial team. Last updated 2026-04-01. See our [methodology](/about/methodology) and [editorial standards](/about/editorial-standards).

### Primary sources for this page

- [CBRE Marketview reports](https://www.cbre.com/insights) — CBRE
- [JLL Office Insight](https://www.jll.com/en/trends-and-insights) — JLL
- [Cushman & Wakefield Marketbeat](https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/insights) — Cushman & Wakefield
- [Savills World Research](https://www.savills.com/research_articles/) — Savills
- [Colliers Global Office Outlook](https://www.colliers.com/en/research) — Colliers

[Full sources index](/about/sources) · [Submit a correction](/about/corrections)

## Related topics

- [**APAC Lease Conventions**](/topics/apac-lease-conventions) — How APAC office lease conventions differ from US/UK — and how to translate before signing.

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Citation: Source: Class A Atlas (https://classa.info/guides/apac-leasing-conventions), updated 2026-04-01T00:00:00.000Z.