Net rentable area (NRA), also called rentable area, is the floor area of a building on which a landlord charges rent: the tenant’s usable space plus a proportional share of common areas such as lobbies, corridors and restrooms.
In U.S. office buildings, rentable area is usually measured under BOMA standards. The ratio of rentable to usable area is the load factor; a load factor of 1.15 means a tenant pays rent on 15 percent more area than it occupies. NRA excludes vertical penetrations such as stairs, elevator shafts and major mechanical shafts, so it is smaller than gross floor area.
Why it matters for parking
- Office parking ratios and lease rights are often written per 1,000 square feet of rentable area, so a tenant’s parking allocation grows with its rentable area, not its headcount.
- Zoning requirements are more often written on gross floor area. Comparing a lease ratio with a zoning ratio means converting between the two. See parking ratios and net floor area.
The Parkonomics view
Every parking ratio needs an area basis, and NRA, GFA and net floor area can differ by 10 to 25 percent for the same building. Before comparing ratios, put them on the same basis.
Related terms: Gross Floor Area, Gross Leasable Area, Net Floor Area, Parking Ratios