What is BOMA
BOMA stands for the Building Owners and Managers Association, and is the premiere trade association for the office building industry, with over 20,000 members. BOMA International currently consists of nearly 100 North American and 14 overseas affiliates. Individuals join BOMA through local BOMA associations. Principal members own or manage over 9 billion sq.ft. of commercial office space, while associate members provide the goods and services needed to operate those properties.
Founded in 1907, the BOMA mission is simple: to actively and responsibly represent and promote the commercial real estate industry’s interests through effective leadership and advocacy; the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information; and professional development.
For more information on BOMA, visit the BOMA Home Page.
Why the BOMA Standards?
The Building Owners and Managers Association International developed the newest 2010 standards, as well as previous versions (see History). A diverse group of real estate industry professionals participated in the two-year revision process, including owners and managers of multi-tenant office buildings, managers of owner-occupied facilities, asset managers, leasing professionals, brokers, architects, interior designers, space planners and appraisers. The result is a consensus document that has gained the approval of the American National Standards Institute, and has repeatedly been recognized by the courts as THE national standard, if not International.
The purpose of the Standards are to provide a standard means for the definition and calculation of Rentable space, as it pertains to all types of buildings. It is to permit communication and computation on a clear and understandable basis. It is also to allow comparison of values on the basis of generally agreed upon methods of measurement.
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ANSI Standards:
An American National Standard is intended as a guide to aid the manufacturer, the consumer, and the general public. It’s existence of course does not preclude anyone from manufacturing, marketing, purchasing, or using products, processes or procedures not conforming to the standard. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) does not develop standards and will not give an interpretation of any American National Standard. These standards are subject to periodic review, and users are reminded to use the latest editions.
The BOMA Standards for Measuring Office, Retail, Industrial and Residential Space have all been ANSI-certified this year.
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History of the BOMA Standards:
The first issue of the BOMA Standard Method of Floor Measurement for Office Buildings was published in 1915. It was quickly adopted by the industry as a national standard, and stood for close to 40 years without amendment. In 1952, with the advent of more modern architectural designs, the Standard was revised. It was then further revised in 1955 to become the American National Standard, of which BOMA International was a co-sponsor.
The next major revision came in 1971, and reflected leasing concepts in use at that time. This version lasted until 1980, when another major revision took place. The 1980 Standard clarified some details regarding points of measurement relative to the exterior wall of a building, and established the basic methods for measuring the office area of a given floor. This 1980 Standard was basically the BOMA Standard in use most recently, until the last major revision in 1996. There was a minor update in 1989, with a French translation plus the publication of a list of 26 commonly asked questions and answers about the 1980 Standard. Though this list of questions/answers is not officially part of the Standard, any reference to a 1989 Standard is referring to this list in combination with the published 1980 Standard.
In 1996, the Standard underwent a major revision, in an attempt to overcome some serious flaws and shortcomings in the 1980/89 version. The major change introduced in 1996 is that the Standard is now a building-wide method of measurement, as opposed to previous versions which were more of a floor-by-floor method. Now, spaces that clearly benefit all building occupants can be measured and allocated to all, no matter what floor they occupy, on a pro-rata basis.
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).
In 2007, BOMA and IFMA released the document ‘A Unified Approach for Measuring Space‘, with the intent of the development of a common language and set of terms to be used by both IFMA and BOMA Standards, in future.
BOMA since then has been working to update the 1996 Office Standard to be in conformance with this IFMA/BOMA Unified Approach. To that end, BOMA has now released the 2010 Office Standard Methods of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA Z65.1), which is intended to replace the 1996 Standard.
As well, they have released the ‘2009 Gross Areas of a Building: Methods of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA Z65.3)‘ Standard. This is in compliance with the BOMA/IFMA Unified Approach, and is intended to deal with single-tenant buildings, with definitions of ‘Exterior Gross Area’ to replace previous definitions of Gross Building Area.
The 2004 Industrial Standard is now referred to as the 2009 Industrial Buildings Standard (ANSI/BOMA Z65.2), with content unchanged from 2004. The only change being that it is now ANSI certified, and as well it is not intended to apply to Retail buildings now, with the introduction of the new Retail Standard (below).
Also in 2010, BOMA has released the new 2010 Retail Standard of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA Z65.5), a long-awaited standard intended to deal with retail-only buildings.
For those dealing with multi-unit residential properties, BOMA has also released a 2010 Multi-Unit Residential Standard of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA Z65.4).
And finally, in 2011 BOMA has released the 2011 Mixed Use Properties Standard of Measurement, with ANSI certification to follow soon.
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Accepted Standards of Variance:
If 10 professionals measure a building and calculate its rentable areas, you of course will have 10 different answers. No two people will measure an area as complex as a building exactly the same.
The BOMA Standards allow for this discrepancy by provision of a 2% variance when comparing site measurements. That is, if 2 sets of calculations are within 2% of each other, they are deemed to be equal according to BOMA. If they differ by more than 2%, BOMA International recommends the opinion of an unbiased third party be sought to assist in resolving the matter.
The Standard also makes note of another important fact: it is not uncommon for an area calculated from the building’s design plans to differ from the area measured on site. That is, for an accurate representation of a building’s area, an as-built plan is required.
