Three most important terms in leasing/renting space are usable square footage, rentable square footage, and common area factor. Together, they determine the amount of your monthly rent.

Usable Square Feet simply means the square footage that is rented to be used exclusively by the tenant. Usable square feet includes private (tenant-only) rest rooms, closets, storage and any other areas used only by the tenant.

Rentable Square Feet  combines “useable square feet” plus a portion of the common area.

The Common Area Factor is a number which refers to shared spaces within a building.  These spaces include common areas such as lobbies, amenities which all tenants of the building use, storage, garbage and storage areas. The difference between usable square feet and rentable square feet is generally between 10-15%, with rentable square feet reflecting a higher amount (cost) than just usable square feet.

Related articles

• Leasing Workplace Space: Usable Vs Rentable Square Feet (chuimaa.wordpress.com)
• Understanding the Common Area Factor Rentable vs Useable Square Feet (coydavidson.com)
• What is a standard common area factor? (loopnet.com)
• Common Area Factors Explained (lease.io)