Turning Spare Floors into a Coworking Space in Bangladesh

If you own a building in Dhaka or Chattogram with a floor that has been empty for months, or an old office floor that nobody wants to lease as a single unit, you may have wondered about turning spare floors into a coworking space in Bangladesh. Freelancers, startups, remote workers for foreign companies, small agencies and visiting professionals all need somewhere reliable to work — with power backup, fast internet and a decent desk — without signing a multi-year office lease.

Coworking can earn more per square foot than a conventional lease. It is also a real business, not passive rent: you will be managing members, internet, cleaning, bookings, billing and a daily flow of people. This guide explains the models you can choose from, what a floor needs, how to estimate income and costs with a worked example, the legal and tax points to check, how to find members, and the mistakes that sink small coworking spaces. It is general, practical information, not investment or legal advice.

What Is a Coworking Space?

A coworking space is a shared, serviced workspace where people rent desks or small private offices on flexible terms — by the day, week or month — instead of leasing a whole office. The operator provides furniture, internet, power backup, cleaning, washrooms, a pantry, meeting rooms and sometimes a reception service. Members pay a membership fee that bundles all of that.

Common product types include:

• Hot desk: any free desk in an open area, first come first served.
• Dedicated desk: the member's own desk, usually with a lockable drawer.
• Private cabin or team office: a small enclosed room for 2–8 people.
• Day pass: a single day's access for visitors or occasional users.
• Meeting room bookings: hourly rental, for members and outsiders.
• Virtual office: a business address and mail handling, where permitted.

Is Your Floor Suitable?

Not every spare floor works. Check these before you invest.

Location and access

Members need to reach you easily. Proximity to a main road, public transport, food options and business areas (for example Gulshan, Banani, Dhanmondi, Mohakhali, Uttara, Mirpur DOHS, or Agrabad in Chattogram) helps a lot. A floor in a quiet residential lane can still work for local freelancers, but expect lower prices.

Building permission and use

Check whether the building's approved use and your land/building documents allow commercial or office use on that floor. A purely residential building may have restrictions, and neighbours in a residential building may object to a daily flow of visitors. Check RAJUK (or the relevant development authority) approvals, your city corporation trade licence requirements, and, if applicable, your apartment owners' association rules. Our guide on RAJUK approvals for landlords gives background.

Physical requirements

• Lift: essential above the second or third floor.
• Power backup: generator and/or IPS that can carry lights, fans, sockets, routers and ideally ACs. Load-shedding is the fastest way to lose members.
• Internet: at least two independent ISP connections from different providers, so one outage does not stop work.
• Washrooms: clean and enough for the number of people, ideally separate for women and men.
• Fire safety: extinguishers, clear exits, a second stairway where required, and no blocked corridors. Check the building's fire safety compliance.
• Ventilation and cooling: ACs sized for a room full of people and laptops.

Three Business Models to Choose From

If you already have a busy life or live abroad, leasing to an established operator is often the sensible first step. If you or a family member want to build a business and can be present daily, running it yourself can make sense.

Setting Up the Floor

Layout

A typical mix for a 2,500–3,000 sq ft floor might be an open area with hot and dedicated desks, three or four small cabins, one meeting room for 6–8 people, a phone booth or quiet corner for calls, a pantry, and a small reception or entry area. Allow comfortable space per desk — cramped desks are a common reason members leave.

Fit-out essentials

• Desks and ergonomic chairs (chairs matter more than desks for long working days)
• Power sockets at every desk, with backup
• Wi-Fi access points properly placed, plus a few wired ports
• Lockers for dedicated-desk members
• Meeting room screen or projector
• Pantry: water filter, kettle, fridge, microwave, tea/coffee station
• CCTV at the entrance, and access control or a visitor register

Keep it flexible

Use movable partitions and modular furniture where possible. If coworking does not work out, you want to convert the floor back to a standard office lease without tearing everything down.

Worked Example: Estimating Income and Costs

For example (illustrative): An owner in Mirpur has a 2,800 sq ft floor that could be leased as a plain office at about Tk 70,000 per month. They consider running coworking themselves. All prices below are illustrative assumptions for planning only; test local demand before relying on them.

Check: 84,000 + 28,000 + 66,000 + 30,000 + 16,000 = Tk 2,24,000.

Monthly operating costs (illustrative):

Check: 45,000 + 35,000 + 10,000 + 12,000 + 8,000 + 15,000 = Tk 1,25,000.

Monthly operating surplus: 2,24,000 − 1,25,000 = Tk 99,000, compared with Tk 70,000 from a plain lease. The difference is Tk 29,000 per month.

Now the fit-out. Suppose furniture, partitions, ACs, wiring, Wi-Fi and pantry cost Tk 18,00,000. The payback on the extra income is 18,00,000 ÷ 29,000 ≈ 62 months, just over 5 years — and that assumes the occupancy above is reached and held. If occupancy is only 50% across the board, income may drop well below costs plus the lease alternative. This is why many owners either start small (half a floor) or lease to an operator first. This example is educational only, not investment advice.

Pricing Your Memberships

• Research nearby spaces. Visit two or three coworking spaces in your area and note what is included at each price.
• Bundle clearly. State what is included: internet, backup, tea/coffee, meeting room hours, printing, locker.
• Offer commitment discounts. A lower monthly rate for 3-, 6- or 12-month terms gives you steadier income.
• Charge a refundable deposit. A security deposit equal to one month's membership for dedicated desks and cabins protects against damage and unpaid fees.
• Keep day passes premium. Day passes should be relatively more expensive per day than monthly membership, to encourage people to convert.

Legal, Licensing and Tax Points to Check

A coworking business is not a simple residential tenancy. Before launching, check at least these points with a lawyer or tax adviser:

• Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality for the business activity.
• Permitted use of the floor under the building approval and any apartment association rules.
• Membership agreements: coworking members are usually licensees using services rather than tenants with a lease; get the wording drafted properly.
• VAT and income tax: providing workspace and services may have VAT implications under the VAT and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012, and income is taxable under the Income Tax Act, 2023. Rates and registration thresholds should be confirmed with NBR guidance or a tax adviser — see our explainer on VAT on rent in Bangladesh.
• Fire safety and building safety compliance for a space used by many people.
• Visitor and member records: keep a register of members with identification, as you would for tenants.

This section is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Finding and Keeping Members

Where members come from

• Freelancer and developer communities on Facebook and LinkedIn
• Google Maps listing with photos, hours and prices
• Local universities (graduates starting agencies or freelancing)
• Small companies needing a satellite office or project space
• Remote workers for overseas employers who need reliable power and internet

What keeps them

• Reliable internet and backup — the non-negotiables
• Clean washrooms and pantry, every day
• Quiet zones and enough phone/call space
• Friendly, responsive staff and quick fixes when something breaks
• Small community events: a monthly talk, networking tea, skills session

Day-to-Day Operations

Running coworking means dozens of small monthly transactions. You will need a simple system for:

1. Member records with identification and emergency contact
2. Monthly invoices and receipts for each member
3. Tracking who has paid and who is overdue, with polite reminders
4. Meeting room bookings
5. A visitor register at reception
6. Maintenance requests (AC not cooling, Wi-Fi dead zone, broken chair)
7. Expense records by category, so you know your real margin

A simple launch timeline

1. Weeks 1–2: Check approvals, licence requirements and building rules; visit competing spaces; decide your model.
2. Weeks 3–4: Finalise layout, get quotes for furniture, wiring, ACs and partitions; arrange two ISP connections.
3. Weeks 5–8: Fit-out; set up backup power and Wi-Fi; draft membership agreement and house rules.
4. Weeks 7–8: Start marketing with photos, a Google Maps listing and an opening offer for founding members.
5. Week 9 onward: Open, collect feedback weekly, and adjust prices and layout based on what actually sells.

Sample house rules for members

Welcome to [Space name]. To keep this a good place to work for everyone:

1. Opening hours are [8 am – 10 pm], Saturday to Thursday. 2. Please take phone and video calls in the call booth or meeting room. 3. Guests must sign the visitor register at reception. 4. Meeting rooms are booked in advance; please release them if you finish early. 5. Keep the pantry clean and label personal food. 6. Membership fees are due by the [5th] of each month. 7. Report any fault — Wi-Fi, AC, power — to [name/number] straight away.

Common Mistakes

• Over-spending on design. Beautiful interiors photograph well, but reliable internet and power keep members.
• Single internet connection. One outage on a deadline day and members start looking elsewhere.
• Underestimating electricity. A floor full of ACs, laptops and lights running 10–12 hours a day costs far more than an empty floor.
• Assuming full occupancy from month one. New spaces often take many months to fill. Budget for a ramp-up period.
• Ignoring building neighbours. In mixed or residential buildings, a daily stream of visitors can cause friction. Manage entry and lifts considerately.
• Informal billing. Cash-only, no receipts and no due list quickly leads to unpaid fees.
• Skipping legal checks. Operating without the right licence or on a floor not approved for office use can cause problems later.

Is Coworking Right for You?

Coworking is worth serious thought if your floor is in an accessible, business-friendly location, has been hard to lease as a whole, and you (or a trusted operator) can give it daily attention. It is less suitable for residential buildings with strict association rules, for owners who want truly passive income, or where nearby coworking spaces are already half empty. Starting with half a floor, or leasing to an experienced operator, lets you test demand before committing big money.

If coworking is not the right fit, other ways to use idle space — letting shops, parking, rooftop or signage — may suit you better; see managing vacant shops for ideas on filling commercial space.

Final Thoughts

Turning a spare floor into coworking can raise income per square foot and put an idle asset to work, but it trades passive rent for an active service business. Check permissions first, invest in power and internet before decoration, price clearly, and budget for a slow start.

If you run it yourself, member invoices, payments, dues and expenses pile up fast. Bariwala ERP (বাড়িওয়ালা ERP) can hold each cabin or desk as a unit, generate monthly invoices in bulk, send SMS reminders for dues, record visitors and track income and expenses — useful whether you have one coworking floor or several rental buildings.