Dallas area office space clients often ask us about the common area factor in their lease. LCRG wants to offer an explanation to make yet another complicated lease term easier to understand.

How is the Common area factor for Dallas office leases defined? In order for building owners to fairly assess all occupants of a multi-tenant building for their common use of stairways, elevator lobbies, main building lobbies, bathrooms, and the like, they apply a common area factor (CAF) to the actual or usable square footage a tenant occupies which then becomes a “rentable” square footage number – what your rent is based on. Most landlord CAF calculations are based on the latest BOMA standards. You’ll note how the percentage only increases with each revision.

CAF’s run in the 13 – 19% range, making the average CAF around 16%. This is not an arbitrary number but rather a component of a mathematical calculation. The CAF is found by comparing the total usable square footage of all common areas in a building versus the overall usable square footage of the building. For example, if a 100,000 SF building determines that 18,450 SF is common area then that building would have a CAF of 18.45%. In determining the square footage upon which rent would be paid, the building would measure the usable square footage of the Dallas office space taken and then multiply that usable number by 1.1845, which would yield the overall rentable number. The higher the factor the higher your rent is in effect. Generally, buildings with large common areas have a greater CAF, as do ones with shared buildings amenities like gyms, conference centers, tenant lounges, and the like, since 21st century landlords often add these “amenities” into the CAF of the building. AKA, nothing is free!

LCRG hopes this makes another component of your Dallas area office space lease easier to understand. We have all the answers for your Dallas office lease, just give us a call! Dallas office space is our business at LCRG / Laughlin Commercial Realty Group