Office rent in Tashkent: agreeing rent reviews without currency riskCommercial property in Tashkent

A quoted rate of “$15 per square metre” does not tell a business what an office will cost a year later. It does not identify the currency that will appear in the lease, the review date, the trigger for an increase, or whether the rent deposit will rise with the rent. The practical answer is to agree, before paying an advance, a fixed opening amount in Uzbek soums, one transparent review mechanism and a limit on any increase. The full lease term should then be modelled using that formula. Neither “the exchange rate on the payment date” nor a landlord’s right to “review to market” should be left without a date, a data source and a dispute procedure.

Why an advertised rate is not yet the contractual rent

A listing helps a tenant screen premises by size, district and an approximate budget. A short headline rate does not reveal the legal or financial mechanics of the transaction. The current commercial property catalogue contains offices of different sizes and conditions, but a listing cannot establish the rent-review terms, the payment components or the rules for returning security. Those points must be requested separately.

There is also a mandatory legal boundary. Article 9 of Uzbekistan’s Law on Currency Regulation requires prices for goods, work and services in Uzbekistan to be set in the currency of the Republic of Uzbekistan. It prohibits linking those prices to foreign currencies or notional units, except for limited exceptions expressly provided by law. The Law on Advertising separately prohibits prices and tariffs from being stated in foreign currency in advertising.

An amount displayed in dollars therefore should not be copied mechanically into the lease as “the equivalent at the exchange rate on the payment date”. For a tenant, this is not a cosmetic issue. Such wording raises a legal question and makes the monthly budget dependent on a variable the business does not control. The practical step is to request a proposal in UZS and have the price clause reviewed by a lawyer who handles commercial leases in Uzbekistan.

What must be stated in writing about rent

The Civil Code allows the parties to agree a price, but a price can be changed after the contract is signed only in the cases and on the terms provided by law or by the contract. For the lease of a building or structure, the rent amount is an essential term. Without a written agreement on that amount, the lease is treated as not concluded. If rent is expressed per square metre, the payment is calculated from the area actually transferred to the tenant.

At least five elements should match across the documents: the opening monthly amount in soums; the area covered by that amount; the date charging begins; the costs included and charged separately; and the rule for future changes. A clause saying that “the landlord may index the rent in response to market conditions” gives the tenant no way to verify an invoice. It lacks a date, a metric, a limit and a notice obligation.

A building lease must be made as one written document signed by both parties. The Code also provides for leases to be recorded with the tax authorities and for a lease of at least one year to be registered with the state. Before signing, check the current procedure through the government’s building lease registration service and with counsel. The type of premises, the parties and the term all matter.

Four rent-review models and their risks

**A fixed UZS amount for the full term.** This gives the clearest budget protection, although the landlord may price expected growth into the opening rent. It can be more practical than a complex formula for a short lease.

**Pre-agreed UZS amounts for each year.** The schedule states exact monetary amounts for each period rather than a percentage. The finance director can see the liability immediately. Check the transition date and how the new amount applies to a partial month.

**Indexation to a published index.** The parties may discuss a neutral public measure such as the official consumer price index. However, CPI measures consumer prices; it is not an office-rent index for Tashkent. The editorial conclusion is that CPI may be a verifiable reference but does not prove how much a particular office has increased in market value. The clause should identify the precise data series, comparison period, publication date, rounding method, cap and, if agreed, floor. A local lawyer should confirm that the proposed mechanism complies with Uzbek law.

**Review to “market rent”.** This is the most dispute-prone model when comparable properties, area, condition, location and an independent specialist are not defined. RICS describes market review, index-linked review and fixed increases as distinct methods and recommends identifying the date, basis and dispute process in advance. It is a useful international professional reference, not Uzbek law.

Article 544 of the Civil Code says that, unless the lease provides otherwise, rent may be changed by agreement of the parties at the times set by the contract, but not more than once a year. This does not automatically allow a landlord to impose any new amount each year. The mechanism must be agreed, and its wording and any exceptions should be checked by counsel.

Calculation: how one clause changes a three-year budget

Assume an opening rent of UZS 36,000,000 per month. This is an illustrative example excluding VAT, service charges, utilities and fit-out. Compare three 36-month outcomes.

| Model | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Three-year total | |---|---:|---:|---:|---:| | Fixed amount | 432,000,000 | 432,000,000 | 432,000,000 | 1,296,000,000 | | 8% increase on each anniversary | 432,000,000 | 466,560,000 | 503,884,800 | 1,402,444,800 | | Illustrative CPI: 7%, then 10%, capped at 8% | 432,000,000 | 462,240,000 | 499,219,200 | 1,393,459,200 |

The second scenario costs UZS 106,444,800 more than the fixed-rent case, almost three opening monthly payments. In the third scenario, the second-year monthly rent is 36,000,000 × 1.07 = UZS 38,520,000. The third-year increase is capped at 8%, so 38,520,000 × 1.08 = UZS 41,601,600.

This calculation explains the mechanism; it is not an inflation forecast. Substitute the proposed amount, term and formula. Run a downside case up to the agreed cap. If the business can afford only the base case, the premises are financially fragile before the lease is signed.

Why a Central Bank exchange-rate reference does not remove uncertainty

The Central Bank publishes official exchange rates for accounting, statistical reporting and mandatory payments. From 15 September 2026, the methodology incorporates both exchange and interbank over-the-counter transactions, while the rate from the last working day applies on non-working days. That makes the data source auditable, but it does not turn a foreign-currency link in a domestic lease into a safe contractual term.

Even technically, “at the Central Bank rate” is incomplete. Does it mean the invoice date, the due date or the date funds are actually debited? What happens after late payment? Is an invoice already issued recalculated? Different answers produce different amounts.

A currency scenario can be used inside the tenant’s negotiating model, for example to compare a requested headline rate with the company budget on one chosen date. The signed document must express price and payments in a way that complies with Uzbekistan’s mandatory rules. The solution is not a better currency calculator but legally reviewed wording in UZS.

How indexation affects the deposit and other charges

A deposit described as “one month” or “two months” is not a fixed amount. The lease should state the exact sum in soums and its purpose: payment security, compensation for damage, or both. It should then list permitted deductions, evidence required for a cost, the notice period and the deadline for returning the balance.

Two arrangements have different cash effects. A fixed deposit of UZS 72,000,000 does not change when rent rises. A deposit equal to two current monthly payments must be topped up after a review if the lease expressly says so. In the 8% scenario above, it becomes UZS 77,760,000 after the first anniversary and UZS 83,980,800 after the second. The extra UZS 11,980,800 is not rent expense, but it ties up working capital.

Apply the same test to penalties, parking, service charges and VAT. Do they rise with base rent or follow separate calculations? Do not let variable costs disappear into one opaque line. Compare premises using the full occupancy-cost method, not only the base rent.

Terms to settle before paying an advance

Record the commercial terms in heads of terms and then carry them into the lease and schedules without changing their meaning:

1. The opening monthly rent in UZS and the actual chargeable area.
2. Whether VAT is included, added on top, or does not apply to that landlord.
3. The first review date and the frequency of later reviews.
4. One mechanism: scheduled UZS amounts, an agreed index, or a market review.
5. The exact source, data series, period, rounding, cap and floor.
6. The notice period and form, and evidence supplied with a revised calculation.
7. A fallback if publication of the index is delayed or discontinued.
8. A dispute process: negotiation, independent valuer or another agreed method.
9. The deposit in UZS, top-up obligation, deduction grounds and return deadline.
10. The service and utility charges that change separately from rent.

The viewing is not the place to debate percentages. Collect the inputs: exact area, condition, readiness date, included services and the landlord’s draft terms. Use the property map to compare locations and the Tashkent commercial property guide to compare formats.

Where self-checking ends

The finance team can build scenarios, verify arithmetic and measure budget headroom. An accountant should confirm the treatment of rent, the deposit, VAT and source documents for the actual status of both parties. This is particularly important where the landlord is an individual, a non-resident or a taxpayer under a special regime.

A commercial property lawyer should answer specific questions: whether the price clause complies with Article 9 of the Law on Currency Regulation; whether the chosen indexation mechanism is permissible; how it interacts with Articles 356, 544, 574 and 577 of the Civil Code; when tax recording and state registration are required; and how the security can be drawn and returned.

If the parties select a market review, engage a valuer or leasing adviser. The instruction should define the comparable set, valuation date, floor area, fit-out condition and included services. Without those inputs, “market rent” merely moves the disagreement into the future.

Sources and verification date

• Закон Республики Узбекистан «О валютном регулировании» — verified 2026-09-29
• Гражданский кодекс Республики Узбекистан, часть первая — verified 2026-09-29
• Гражданский кодекс Республики Узбекистан, часть вторая — verified 2026-09-29
• Закон Республики Узбекистан «О рекламе» — verified 2026-09-29
• Совершенствуется практика формирования и объявления обменного курса — verified 2026-09-29
• Индекс потребительских цен в Республике Узбекистан: публикации 2026 года — verified 2026-09-29
• Государственная регистрация договоров аренды зданий и сооружений — verified 2026-09-29
• Commercial property rent reviews — verified 2026-09-29