advertorial
Applying the new SAPOA method for measuring floor areas Rounding off of measurements
Sean Liebenberg, new business executive at Excellerate Facilities Management
S
ince the introduction of the new edition of the method for measuring floor areas, which was approved for use on 1 August 2005, Excellerate Facilities Management (EFM) has been updating existing building SAPOA records on behalf of several clients. “SAPOA recommends the use of this document for both existing and new buildings,” explains Sean Liebenberg, new business executive at EFM. “And, as members of SAPOA and as intended, both EFM and our clients are embracing this new method in order to achieve national uniformity with regards to the measurement of rentable area. “Some of the changes have sparked debate, discussions and confirmations with SAPOA to iron out any ambiguities and interpretations. In general, we have applied the following principles relative to the various clauses within the document. Bear in mind that what is noted in this article is also up to interpretation and debate. Our rule of thumb in terms of application has been guided by SAPOA, so that the landlord has the ultimate say in the interpretation and application of the final rules. “Without rewriting the new SAPOA method for measuring we hope this may be of use in interpreting and applying the document in a practical manner,” he says. 46
SOUTH AFRICAN PROPERTY REVIEW
In the past, EFM has had to produce measurements with four decimal places in order to balance with property-management systems rounding off at three or less decimals. Now clients have adopted the SAPOA recommendation of rounding off to the nearest full square metre, and EFM finds that this eliminates numerous debates with various consultants over minor decimal differences. “Our exposure to date has been limited to the commercial sector of offices, retail and industrial property,” says Liebenberg. “Feedback has led us to apply the following rules when measuring area for these building types.”
Offices The Rentable Area consists of the Usable Area plus the Common Area. l The Common Area is broken down further into two categories: a Primary Common Area on any given floor, and a Remote Common Area, such as entrance foyers, and plant and service rooms located elsewhere in the building or on site and not on the given floor. l The Rentable Area excludes the Supplementary Area that may produce additional revenue (for example, storerooms, balconies, terraces, service passages, parking, etc). According to Liebenberg this has been the major change that EFM has encountered because the above have resulted in substantial changes in comparisons of old to new measurement methods. Remote Common Areas have increased the Rentable Area, while the Supplementary Common Areas have, in turn, reduced the Rentable Area. “This varies from building to building,” says Liebenberg. “In some cases, they either even each other out, or increase or decrease the total Rentable Area – it depends on respective sizes and areas. Overall we have noted an increase of between 2,5% and 5% in Rentable Area across the office buildings we have remeasured. The challenge for landlords and property l
managers is how to apply these Rentable Areas per tenant into current leases and property-management system records. EFM recommends that SAPOA also looks into how Remote Common Areas located in the common site in an office park with varying building sizes are applied.”
Retail l The Rentable Area consists of the Usable Area plus
the Secondary Common Area serving only one tenant. Some of the changes EFM has dealt with include: l The Use able Area, as per SAPOA, is the area capable of exclusive occupation by the tenant, which is the total area enclosed by the lease line, the demising walls and external walls, whether or not a shop front is erected behind the lease line. l The Common Area consists of the Primary and Secondary Common Area. l The Primary Common Area, as per SAPOA, includes all building areas that are not part of the Rentable Area. The Primary Common Area is not charged to tenants, and includes parking areas. l The Secondary Common Area is an area such as an access passage, plant room, toilet, loading dock, etc. Any Secondary Common Area dedicated to serve one tenant becomes Rentable. “Our challenge now and in the past has been the interpretation of the lease line,” comments Liebenberg: