Increasingly, we are seeing the word COWORKING in real estate agency windows or on advertising banners, and this concept has gained popularity in recent years. Many people are asking the question: but what exactly is a coworking space?
Well, in this newsletter, we will explain what a coworking space is, as well as where and how shared workspaces are regulated.
In general terms, when we talk about coworking, we refer to the fact that a group of people, who may be strangers and work for different companies or for themselves, come together in a common space to work independently on different projects.
The key aspect and differentiating point of coworking spaces is collaboration, openness, community, and sustainability, as the basis of shared workspaces is the ability to share and enrich the experiences and different projects of the “coworkers” who work in that shared space.
In this regard, it is worth mentioning that on June 26, 2024, the Decree 249/2024, dated June 19, 2024, was published in the BOPA, approving the Regulation of shared workspaces or coworking spaces, which arose from the mention already made of the concept in Law 42/2022, of December 1, on digital economy, entrepreneurship, and innovation, and the need for these shared workspaces to be regulated in some way and to establish basic premises such as the minimum characteristics they must have to receive the pertinent authorization to operate as a coworking space.
Decree 249/2024 establishes in its Regulation that the minimum characteristics these shared workspaces must comply with are the following:
| Minimum area | Characteristic | |
| Mobile desk or hot desk |
7 m2 |
Desk.
Chair. Light and access to light switches Internet Access. Access to shared spaces: toilets, cafeteria, dining room, meeting rooms, etc. Printing facilities. Lockers, drawers or cupboards. Cleaning and maintenance of space. Air-conditioning. |
| Fixed desk or dedicated desk | ||
| Open office | ||
| Private office | All the above.
Restricted access by key or identification system. |
To have a coworking space and exploit its profitability and activity as such, it will be necessary to have the corresponding commercial authorizations depending on the type of center to be operated.
Once the application is submitted with the pertinent attached documentation, the Ministry in charge of the economy, which is responsible for verifying the application along with the attached documentation, makes a decision within a period of 2 months, and if a favorable resolution is issued, the new coworking space is registered in the Shared Workspaces Registry.
Additionally, it is important to mention that those individuals or legal entities who were already operating a shared workspace before the publication of the Regulation of Decree 249/2024 are given a period of 6 months to comply with the premises indicated in the same Regulation.
We can therefore affirm that the future is arriving, and alternatives such as shared workspaces, which are growing rapidly and provide many facilities, favor the creation of an ideal environment for corporate growth and for having various profiles of workers who are part of it and can create synergies among them, even if they work independently and on projects that may have nothing to do with each other.
Many of our clients have coworking spaces in mind to register their business since these are feedback spaces, with great flexibility and a strong sense of community, at an affordable price.