Qualified Experts of
BOMA Standards
BOMA International currently has released 6 Standards, plus previous versions of the Office Standard still in widespread use of course. 2010 has seen widespread adoption of the new Standards, and it is our recommendation to imlement the new Standards where possible.
NOTE: In 2024, BOMA released the new BOMA Office Z65.1 Office Standard (Method A and B). This will become the current Office standard going forward, however all other Standards remain unchanged as of this date.
LASERTECH Floorplans has been implementing the Standards since our beginnings in 1998, and was the first appointed Official and Exclusive Interpreter of the BOMA Standards in 2004. We served in that role through 2010, and even though we no longer function as an Official Interpreter, we continue to actively promote the use of the Standards as the fairest and most accurate way to calculate Rentable area.
In this section we will outline each of the Standards currently published, and their intended application. Links are provided to the BOMA site where copies may be ordered as required.
Probably the most confusing part of all the new BOMA Standards now available is ‘which one do I need?’. Click here for an excerpt from the 2012 Mixed Use Standard, which lists all types of buildings and properties and recommends which Standard(s) to use.
Office Buildings: Standard Methods of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA Z65.1 – 2017)
BOMA International has now released the latest version of the office standard. This version signifies an improvement over the most recent 2010 Standard, which itself was a major revision, including a new name Office Buildings: Standard Methods of Measurement (2010). The objective of the office standard is to provide a uniform basis for measuring rentable area in both existing and new office buildings by taking a building-wide approach to floor area measurement. It provides a methodology for measuring both occupant space as well as the space that benefits all occupants.
Features of the 2010 Office Standard included:
- Single Load Factor Method. A new calculation applied to the occupant area of each floor to determine the rentable area and is the same for all floor levels of a building. This method is referred to as “Method B.” This method was not permitted in the 1996 version.
- Offers the option of choosing either the new Method B or the measurement methodology of the 1996 standard, referred, to as “Legacy Method A.”
- Regional leasing practices, particularly for tropical climates, are included in the new standard to allow for inclusion of exterior circulation corridors in Rentable, in some situations.
- Allows for the separation of ‘occupant storage’, typically in basement areas, so as not to affect the load factor calculations
- Allows for the identification and disclosure of areas such as restricted headroom areas, connectors, vault space (eg below sidewalks), and unclassified mezzanine space
- New interactive, downloadable format includes hyperlinks throughout the document text, expanded definitions and 45 full-color illustrations.
Features of the 2017 Office Standard included:
- the inclusion of outdoor balconies, covered galleries and certain finished rooftop terraces in the rentable square footage calculation.
- allowance for capped load factors to be applied on a tenant by tenant basis, rather than by floor as in 2010
- allowance for ‘inter building areas’ for space that is used by some but not all tenants in a building, or even between buildings in a business park scenario
It is important to understand that this new 2017 (and its 2010 predecessor) Office Standard is for both single-tenant and multi-tenant office buildings, where a building owner wishes to lease based on RENTABLE area. However, for single-tenant buildings, BOMA also provides the Gross Areas Standard (see below), allowing leases to be based on Exterior Gross Area rather than Rentable.
Gross Areas of A Building: Standard Methods Of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA Z65.3 – 2018)
In 2018 BOMA released the ‘Gross Areas of a Building: Standard Methods of Measurement (2018)’ Standard. This is in compliance with the BOMA/IFMA Unified Approach, has been updated from 2009 version to be more compliant with the Office 2017 Standards, and is intended to deal with single-tenant buildings, with definitions of ‘Gross1 Area’ to replace previous definitions of Exterior Gross Area.
This Standard details procedures for measuring construction gross area and exterior gross area of all types of buildings and provides unequivocal, direct measure of the physical size of a building. Both methods can be applied to new and existing buildings, single or multiple stories, owner-occupied or leased, and for all types of occupancies and uses. The construction gross area includes the area defined as exterior gross area as well as other areas that have a structural floor, or are covered by a roof or canopy, that are typically unenclosed but within the building perimeter. The exterior gross area is the total floor area contained within the measure line-generally the outside surface of the exterior enclosure of building-including structured parking.
For leasing purposes, the Gross1 would be the standard to follow, but only in a single-tenant building. Note however it is not required to follow lease based on Gross1 for a single tenant building, it is optional and BOMA makes no recommendation as to which Standard to use in this situation.
Industrial Buildings: Standard Method of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA Z65.2 – 2019)
In 2004, BOMA released the BOMA/SIOR Standard Methods for Measuring Floor Area in Industrial Buildings Standard. Focused primarily at industrial buildings, whether single or multi-tenant, it also applies to any building that is more than 50% non-office (including retail). It was updated in 2012, with the ANSI Z65.2 certification made official, and brought in line with the other 2010 Standards. This updated measurement standard for industrial buildings details procedures for determining the area of an industrial building using the two dominant market measurement practices observed in North America–the Exterior Wall Methodology (Method A) or the Drip Line Methodology (Method B).
In 2019, BOMA released the BOMA 2019 For Industrial Buidings Standard Method of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA/Z65.2), to be more in synch with the recent 2017 Office Standards. Though it no longer has a specific Drip Line Methodology (Method B), it does allow for the inclusion of drip-line areas, as long as there is an industrial load-bearing floor beneath the drip line. As well these areas must be disclosed on all associated drawings and spreadsheet calculations.
In addition, it handles features such as unenclosed public galleries, balconies, structured parking, and rooftop terraces, similarly to the Office Standard, though the actual incidence of such features in industrial buildings of course is doubtful.
Retail Buildings: Standard Methods of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA Z65.5 – 2010)
In 2010, BOMA released the Retail Standard Methods of Measurement. Focused on retail buildings only, it provides a methodology to compute the Gross Leasable Area for retail suites and complexes. Load factors are not computed for retail buildings, but all common areas and non-leasable areas in a retail building are accounted for.
Multi-Unit Residential Buildings: Standard Methods of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA Z65.4 – 2010)
In 2010, BOMA released the Multi-unit Residential Standard Methods of Measurement (2010). Focused on multi-unit residential buildings only, it provides a methodology to compute both the Gross and Net areas of such complexes and units.
Mixed Use Properties: Standard Methods of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA Z65.6 – 2012)
In 2012, BOMA released the Mixed Use Properties Standard Methods of Measurement (2012). It specifically addresses properties with any or all of office, retail, multi-unit residential, industrial and parking components, and defines a methodology for the proper allocation of mixed use common areas (MUCA). This is most importance where there is an Office or industrial component, as these types of space compute load factors and need to have a way to include shared common areas with other component uses.
This Standard refers to the other Standards above for each individual component.