GCC Real Estate Glossary

Plain-English definitions of the commercial leasing and regulatory terms you'll encounter setting up a GCC or office in India.

Indian commercial real estate has its own vocabulary — lease structures, area-measurement conventions, and regulatory terms that don't always translate directly from other markets. This glossary covers the terms most relevant to GCCs, occupiers, and enterprises leasing office space in Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

Note: This glossary provides general, educational definitions and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Stamp duty rates, registration requirements, and regulatory applicability (e.g. RERA, SEZ, STPI) vary by state and change over time — always confirm current requirements with a qualified property lawyer or chartered accountant before finalizing a transaction.

Lease & Deal Structures

Bare Shell
An unfinished commercial space with only structural elements, core plumbing, and electrical risers in place — no flooring, ceiling, partitions, or fit-out. The occupier designs and builds everything from scratch.
Warm Shell
A partially finished space with essential infrastructure already installed (basic flooring, ceiling grid, electrical distribution, HVAC ductwork) but no interior fit-out, furniture, or branding — a middle ground between bare shell and fully furnished.
Fully Furnished / Plug-and-Play
A move-in-ready office with workstations, furniture, IT cabling, and interiors already complete. Fastest to occupy, typically at a rental premium over bare or warm shell.
Managed Office
A flexible workspace model where an operator handles fit-out, furniture, IT infrastructure, and facilities management on the occupier's behalf, usually billed per seat rather than per square foot.
NNN Lease (Triple Net Lease)
A lease structure where the quoted rent excludes maintenance, property tax, insurance, parking, and electricity — these are billed separately to the tenant. The dominant lease convention for commercial office space in India.
Lock-in Period
A minimum, non-cancellable duration in a lease during which neither landlord nor tenant can terminate the agreement without penalty, regardless of the total lease term.
Rent Escalation Clause
A pre-agreed clause specifying periodic rent increases over the lease term (commonly every 3 years in Indian commercial leases), stated as a fixed percentage rather than tied to a market index.
Security Deposit
An upfront, interest-free refundable amount paid by the tenant to the landlord as security against default, typically expressed as a multiple of monthly rent and refunded at lease-end.
Fit-Out Period
A negotiated rent-free (or reduced-rent) period at the start of a lease during which the tenant builds out the space before the commercial rent obligation begins.
CAM (Common Area Maintenance)
Charges billed to tenants, typically per sq ft, covering the upkeep of shared building areas — lobbies, corridors, common washrooms, security, and building-wide facilities management.
Lease Deed vs. Leave and License Agreement
A Lease Deed transfers a possessory interest in the property for a fixed term and is compulsorily registrable beyond a certain duration. A Leave and License Agreement grants only a permissive right to use the space without transferring possession, and is the more common structure for shorter-term commercial occupancy in India.
Sub-lease
An arrangement where an existing tenant leases part or all of their leased premises to a third party, subject to the original landlord's consent under the head lease.

Space & Measurement

Carpet Area
The actual usable floor area within the walls of a unit, excluding wall thickness, balconies, and common areas. The smallest of the three area measurements used in Indian real estate.
Built-Up Area
Carpet area plus the area occupied by the unit's own walls — larger than carpet area but excludes shared common areas of the building.
Super Built-Up Area (Chargeable Area)
Built-up area plus a proportionate share of common areas (lobbies, lift lobbies, stairwells). This is the figure landlords typically quote rent against in commercial leases, and is larger than what a tenant actually occupies.
Loading Factor
The percentage difference between carpet area and super built-up area — effectively the "loading" a tenant pays for shared common space. A lower loading factor means more of the quoted area is actually usable.
Seat Density
The average square footage allocated per employee seat, commonly benchmarked between 80–120 sq ft per seat for Grade A Indian offices depending on workplace design and desk-sharing ratios.
Floor Plate
The total usable area of a single floor within a building. Larger, efficient floor plates are generally preferred by GCCs seeking to consolidate large headcounts on fewer floors.

GCC & Corporate Structures

GCC (Global Capability Center)
An in-house offshore or global delivery center set up by a multinational company to provide technology, operations, or business services support to its parent organization — as distinct from outsourcing to a third-party vendor.
Captive Center
A wholly owned offshore unit of a multinational company, functionally interchangeable with the term GCC — the entity is fully controlled and staffed by the parent company rather than an external service provider.
ODC (Offshore Development Center)
A dedicated offshore team, often housed within a third-party vendor's facility, working exclusively for one client — distinct from a GCC in that the real estate and employment relationship sits with the vendor, not the client company.
BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) Model
A GCC setup model where a service provider builds and operates the center on the client's behalf for an initial period, then transfers full ownership and operational control to the client — used to accelerate market entry.
Seat Leasing
A workspace arrangement where a company leases a fixed number of desks/seats within a shared or managed facility rather than an entire independent floor or building.

Regulatory & Legal (Indian Context)

SEZ (Special Economic Zone)
An act to provide for the establishment, development and management of the Special Economic Zones for the promotion of exports and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. It is more popular for export-oriented IT/ITES and GCC operations, though incentive structures have changed significantly since the Act's introduction.
STPI (Software Technology Parks of India)
A Government of India scheme and registration body historically used by IT/software export units to access certain benefits; relevant to some GCCs depending on their operating structure and export profile.
RERA (Real Estate Regulation and Development Act, 2016)
An act to establish the Real Estate Regulatory Authority for regulation and promotion of the real estate sector and to ensure sale of plot, apartment or building, etc. Each state has its own regulatory authority and rules vary by state — please consult legal advice for specific situations.
Stamp Duty
A state-government levy payable on lease deeds and other property documents, calculated as a percentage of the transaction value. Rates and calculation methods vary by state and change periodically — always confirm current rates with a local registration authority or property lawyer.
Registration of Lease Deed
Under Indian law, lease deeds for a term exceeding 11 months are generally required to be registered with the local Sub-Registrar of Assurances to be legally enforceable — a common reason many commercial leases are structured just under this threshold or via Leave and License arrangements.
Occupancy Certificate (OC)
A document issued by local municipal authorities certifying that a building has been constructed in compliance with approved plans and is fit for occupation. Tenants should confirm a building has a valid OC before signing a lease.

Building & Infrastructure

Grade A Building
A commercial building classification denoting the highest standard of construction quality, infrastructure (power backup, HVAC, fire safety, parking ratio), and facilities management — the benchmark most GCCs require for occupancy.
DG Backup / Power Backup Ratio
The proportion of a building's total power load covered by diesel generator (or equivalent) backup during grid outages, typically expressed as a percentage (e.g., 100% DG backup) or in kVA per sq ft — a key evaluation criterion for GCCs with 24/7 operations.
IGBC / LEED Certification
Green building certifications (Indian Green Building Council and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design respectively) recognizing energy efficiency and sustainability standards — increasingly a requirement for GCCs with parent-company ESG mandates.

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