Confirm what the square footage describes
BOMA’s office standard is designed to calculate rentable area. Request the quoted measurement basis, applicable standard and plan rather than assuming the advertised area equals the space available for desks.
Build a comparison with rentable area for rent calculations and a separate layout capacity assessment. Record meeting rooms, circulation, storage and quiet work needs. Avoid applying an assumed common-area factor to a building when the relevant measurement has not been supplied.
Make recurring costs comparable
Put base rent and additional rent in separate columns for a net quote. For a gross quote, document which items are included before adding further charges. Track parking, connectivity and any separately billed services without assuming they are the same in both buildings.
Check whether the quoted rate applies to every lease year. A first-year rate is not a five-year average. Record estimated operating charges with their budget year and mark any reconciliation or adjustment mechanism for document review.
Hypothetical example: rate versus footprint
Office A is a hypothetical 2,000-square-foot suite at $22 base rent plus $14 additional rent per square foot annually. Its modelled rent subtotal is $72,000 a year, or $6,000 a month. Office B is 1,800 square feet at $25 plus $13, producing $68,400 a year, or $5,700 a month.
B has the higher base rate but the smaller rent subtotal. That advantage matters only if its layout meets the same requirements. The numbers are illustrative and exclude parking, tax, utilities outside the quote, incentives and improvements. They are not local market averages.
Assess the cost of making the layout work
Compare the usable plan through a consistent room-and-workstation brief. A suite that already supports the required layout may reduce construction work, but verify its condition and equipment rather than treating existing improvements as automatically suitable.
Document access arrangements, elevator service, client arrival, transit options, parking availability and after-hours use as questions to verify. These details help explain a cost difference; they are not grounds to invent a building-quality score from a listing photograph.
Use market evidence at the right scale
An office index can show movement in its measured rent concept; it cannot price a particular suite. A publisher’s average for one building class should retain that class, geography and period. Keep it separate from the two property quotes.
Prepare a one-page decision sheet: annual rent subtotal, opening cash, layout fit, access needs and unresolved items. Keep every supplied plan, quote and operating budget dated. A practical shortlist should make the next verification step clear rather than declaring a winner before the evidence is complete.
Sources and scope.
- BOMA International — Floor Measurement Standards ↗
- Statistics Canada — Survey of Commercial Rents reporting guide ↗
- Statistics Canada — Commercial rents services price index, monthly, table 18-10-0255-01 ↗
Sources checked 12 October 2026. Numerical examples are hypothetical; figures from the official index carry their published source period.
Questions worth asking.
Should I compare offices using base rent alone?
Base rent is useful only when the other cost and area assumptions are aligned. Compare the recurring subtotal and the layout requirements too.
Does a smaller suite automatically save money?
A smaller billable area can lower the rent subtotal. Savings depend on whether the layout works and whether additional improvement or service costs are required.
Can an office index tell me the fair rent for a suite?
An index measures change within a defined series. It is context for a quote, not a suite-level valuation.