Lease or buy your premises
For most operators this is not a property question, it is a capital question: what else would that deposit do inside the business, and how certain are you about where you need to be in five years?
What leasing actually buys you
- Optionality. If headcount or pallet volumes could double or halve, a three-to-five-year lease is cheaper than being wrong about a building.
- Less capital at risk. A deposit plus fit-out, instead of a deposit plus bond plus transfer costs.
- Someone else's structural problem. Roof, structure and often compliance sit with the landlord — read which, because "tenant to maintain" clauses vary wildly.
What buying actually buys you
- Control. You can rack it, re-floor it, add power or put solar on the roof without asking permission or losing the improvement at exit.
- A fixed occupancy cost. A bond instalment is not escalated annually by a lease clause, though rates and insurance still move.
- An asset on your balance sheet — frequently held in a separate entity from the trading company. How that is structured is a question for your accountant, not a property site.
The clause most operators under-price
Escalation. An 8% annual escalation on a five-year lease is not "8% more" — it compounds to roughly 36% above year-one rent by year five, and the renewal usually starts from that higher base. Model the full term, not the first year, and compare that total against a bond over the same period before you decide which option is cheaper.
Costs people forget on both sides
Leasing
Deposit and guarantees, fit-out you may not take with you, operating-cost and rates recovery, reinstatement at exit, broker commission where applicable.
Buying
Transfer duty or VAT, conveyancing and bond registration, insurance, rates, deferred maintenance, and the cost of capital you have now committed to a building.
How to use this site for the comparison
Both intents sit on one map here deliberately: switch between to let and for sale on the same search, shortlist up to four buildings, and compare them side by side on rate per square metre, area, erf and parking. The same building type under both intents is the only honest way to answer the question.
This guide is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Run the numbers for your own business with your accountant and have any lease or sale agreement reviewed before you sign.
Compare let and sale options on the map →