BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) is an association founded in 1907 in the United States which is today established in 18 countries. It gathers various actors from commercial real estate and “its mission is to promote the interests of the entire sector through advocacy, education, research, standards development and information” [1]. The principles of measurement for rental spaces result from the development of these standards, of which the first publication dates from 1915. Due to its notoriety and its growing expansion, it doesn’t concern solely office buildings anymore but now addresses other types of commercial rental properties such as industrial and retail properties, each with their specific features. BOMA regulations are approved and recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a private non-profit organization that “coordinates the development of voluntary consensual standards in the United States” [2] and is also the US member committee of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Hereafter is an overview of how the BOMA measurement standards are used for leasable commercial office buildings. The regulations mainly distinguish by the calculation of the leasable area which not only refers to the area occupied by the tenant but also to the common areas used by all occupants. As common spaces like corridors, restrooms, lift benefit all tenants of the building, they will be included in the rental income. They are then fairly distributed between the tenants in proportion to the area each of them occupies. These standards thus provide a common denominator for assessing performance for similar properties. However, two types of buildings won’t be comparable because their standards are different. For example, measuring the relative leasable area of a retail store will include the space occupied by the walls whereas it will be excluded for an office space. In this way, BOMA measurement methods offer a relevant tool that determines the true potential of a leasable commercial building. This standard is now spreading largely, and is therefore constantly evolving to adapt to the new realities of the market : in 2017, a new revision has been brought to reflect the changes of the standardized method for measuring office spaces.
GEOLOCATION, with its team of licensed land surveyors, is the win-win solution for accurate and BOMA-compliant measurements that will reveal the potential of the leasable area of your buildings. Once the work done, you will be given a certificate with a report and a plan describing the rental surfaces as well as all the relevant measures. In addition, by using the services of a professional land surveyor, you will be provided with a document that complies with the applicable regulations, and is also certified by the official measurement specialist.
[1] BOMA CANADA, About BOMA Canada, https://bomacanada.ca/aboutbomacanada/ [Accessed November 16, 2017]
[2] INTERNATIONAL Organization for Standardization, ANSI: Member Committee of the United States, https://www.iso.org/member/2188.html [Accessed November 22, 2017]
Bibliography :
APPRAISAL INSTITUTE OF CANADA, GREGORY KERRY, The BOMA Standards and their use in valuation, https://www.aicanada.ca/article/the-boma-standards-and-their-use-in-valuation-how-to-add-value-for-clients-as-an-appraiser/ [Accessed November 22, 2017]
BOMA INTERNATIONAL, About BOMA International, https://www.boma.org/about/Pages/default.aspx, [Accessed November 22, 2017]
BOMA INTERNATIONAL, Office Buildings Standard, https://www.boma.org/standards/office-buildings/Pages/default.aspx [Accessed November 22, 2017]
BOMA INTERNATIONAL, 2017 Office Standard Fact sheet, https://www.boma.org/standards/Documents/BOMA%202017%20Office%20Standard%20Fact%20Sheet_FINAL.pdf [Accessed November 22, 2017]
BOMA INTERNATIONAL, Best Practices floor measurement, https://www.boma.org/standards/Pages/Best-Practices-for-the-Floor-Measurement-.aspx [Accessed November 22, 2017]