Create a complete premises schedule
Start with the documented area and the quote’s annual or monthly basis. BOMA’s retail measurement framework focuses on determining rental areas; ask for the actual basis used in the offer. Separate base rent, additional charges, utilities and any centre-specific charges supplied with the proposal.
Treat an estimated charge as an estimate. Record its budget year, included items and the document needed to resolve uncertainty. An attractive headline rate does not establish the cost of signage, fit-out, equipment, servicing or access to the premises.
Separate rent from sales-linked payments
Statistics Canada’s commercial-rent reporting guide identifies percentage rent as a sales-related payment distinct from net effective rent. If a retail proposal contains such a payment, record the exact formula, threshold, reporting period and defined sales basis for review.
Do not apply a generic percentage to an offer that does not specify it. Keep the sales model independent of the rent model until the supplied terms connect them. This makes it easier to see whether a scenario changes only revenue or also changes a premises payment.
Hypothetical example: a monthly budget
A hypothetical 1,500-square-foot store has annual base rent of $28 and additional rent of $12 per square foot. The rent subtotal is $60,000 a year, or $5,000 a month. Add a hypothetical $600 monthly utilities allowance and $200 premises insurance allowance: modelled recurring occupancy is $5,800.
At hypothetical monthly sales of $50,000, that amount is 11.6% of sales. At $35,000, it is about 16.6%. These are scenario ratios, not recommended affordability limits or market benchmarks. The example excludes tax, percentage rent, payroll, inventory, improvements and other business expenses.
Where official sector history exists
The approved source contains separate building-type series for Canada, Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia, Toronto, Montréal, Calgary and Vancouver, as well as the Atlantic and Prairie regions. Other listed city series combine building types. Coverage is a property of the source, not a missing value to estimate.
For a market without a sector-specific city series, view its all-building history and independently dated sector evidence. Keep the measures separate; a provincial industrial index cannot be relabelled as an Edmonton industrial index.
Sources and scope.
- BOMA International — Floor Measurement Standards ↗
- Statistics Canada — Survey of Commercial Rents reporting guide ↗
Sources checked 12 October 2026. Numerical examples are hypothetical; figures from the official index carry their published source period.