Lessee wants to pay for only NLA? Is that fine, or no?
Hey,

&amp;#x200B;

We are a lessee that is in negotiation with a lessor that has written only the sqm in GFA in the leasing agreement

  
We did the calculation on the premise and found out that the NLA is 68 % of the GFA, but they are fully charging for 100 % of the GFA. 

We of course understand that the landlord has invested into the property, but we don't feel comfortable paying for that much unusable space, is there anything I could do to argument for to get lower renting fee?
[{"id": "gom0v8j", "text": "Is it a standalone building?", "replies": [{"id": "gom8r23", "text": "It isa residential complex. People living above, and in first floor there are several businesses such as Retail shops, restaurants, nail salons and grocery shops", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gomd22h", "text": "I\u2019ve never known this to be normal. That\u2019s very odd.\n\nWhere are you based?", "replies": [{"id": "gomi9ph", "text": "sweden", "replies": [{"id": "gomnuyw", "text": "Okay I see. I\u2019m not sure how it works over there, sorry :/ good luck though!", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gomi46s", "text": "GFA is typical most places for commercial leases. GLA essentially means you're paying for the walls and everything else that your space utilizes. The 68% seems like a big difference... I assume the LL is tacking on all the corridors, (are you sharing a restroom?), hallways, are your sharing a lobby? If so, you're expected to pay your prorata portion of that because it comes with the property. \n\nIf they are calculating hallways and corridors you do not use or do not have access to, then you can make an argument. IE, we have a interior restroom, so we don't want to pay for the pro-rata share of the restroom in the hallway.\n\nI'm assuming the lease is a 20-40 page doc filled with lots of items to negotiate over. Just be straight and tell them that you weren't anticipating the lease rate to be that high and would like some other concessions... maybe free rent for a few months, etc. \n\nIt's not a good time to be a landlord most places, stand your ground.", "replies": [{"id": "gomiayp", "text": "have them provide a ex. calculation for you to make sure you're on the same page. No point of stressing if your calc assumptions are incorrect. best of luck", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "gomijud", "text": "Thanks man, this helps me :D", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "gomkjxt", "text": "u/Fantastic_Set_9222, after I posted my comment I refreshed the page and saw that you type faster than I do and said what I was typing, only you are much more concise! \n\nI agree with what you said!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gomk74y", "text": "tl;dr at bottom.\n\n**Background**  \nYour use of Sqm leads me to think you are not in the USA, which is where I'm located (Texas). Also, I know laws are different in different US states and different countries. This being r/CommercialRealEstate, I'm going to assume you are leasing one of the commercial spaces on the first floor that you referenced in another comment here. I'll try to make my answer make sense across these differences.\n\nIn the market I'm in, we use slightly different terms as well. GFA here is called \"Rentable Square Feet (RSF)\" and NLA is \"Usable Square Feet (USF),\" just in case I don't catch myself and use those terms instead.  My answer is based on my experience as a CRE Broker in Texas.\n\n**Response**  \nCalculating a lease based on GFA is pretty common, especially in multi-tenant properties with common area (CA) amenities as part of the building such as common area restrooms, shared loading/unloading/dock access, building elevators/atriums, interior hallways, etc. These are for the benefit of the Tenants' employees, customers, and clients, not the exclusive use of a single Tenant or for exclusive use by the Landlord. It is mutual enjoyment. ( It doesn't include the parking lot or landscaping area.)\n\nSince these features are used by all the tenants, the Landlord will take the Sqm of the CA and divide it by the total building Sqm. We call this the \"Add-on Factor.\" That is the difference between the GFA and NLA. Since every Tenant benefits from these, the Landlord will assign a share of the \"rent\" for these areas to each Tenant equally based on their NLA. \n\nI would ask them what areas are included in that 32% add-on to make sure it only factors in the commercial areas of the building. A 32% Add-on factor does seem pretty high for a typical mixed-use building unless they are adding in the hallways and common areas in the residential section as well (shouldn't be doing that!).\n\n**TL;DR** \\- It is pretty standard for Landlords to use GFA in lease calculations to include mutual use/common area amenities. 32% seems pretty high, but that depends on the building layout.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gomo264", "text": "Pay per annum rather than psf, and pay gross (no operating costs.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]