Rules of measurement, MF-0 – surfaces that aren’t the subject of the lease, MF-G – surfaces that are the subject of the lease, modifications of GIF Standard

The GIF Standard is the standard of area measurement adored by German investors. In 2017, due to the growing field of investment of German companies in Poland, the GIF Standard is placed on the 2nd (annual basis) place just behind the BOMA Standard. It is a shot in terms of the most commonly used standards for measuring areas for lease purposes. This is a big jump compared to 2016, where GIF were at 4th and represented only 5.0% of the areas measured by us. This was a huge loss compared to the BOMA Standard, which accounted for 70.2% of the 3 million square meters of area measured by us. According to the GIF Standard we have measured both office buildings and shopping centers, retail parks. What are the rules of GIF Standard that so heavily enters the market?

Only theory

GIF is the German directive for the measurement of area for commercial spaces, which were developed by the Society of Property Research in Germany. This directive is based on the German standard DIN 277. It differentiates in detail which areas belong to the area counted to the tenant and which to the area of common lease, ie:

(MF-0) – surfaces that aren’t the subject of the lease

(MF-G) – surfaces that are the subject of the lease

Measurement rules

• the surface is measured at the floor level (we skip the slats, plinths)

• built-in elements with a height lower than the height of the room are not included.

• measured in the “light” of the walls

the surface is measured to the glass or wall depending on the type of façade

• All MF-G surfaces with a height of less than or equal to 1.50m should be shown separately

• be sure to measure all structural elements that limit the room, including the facings of the room

(MF-0) – surfaces that aren’t the subject of the lease

The surface MF-0 includes:

• Technical Support Areas (TF-Technische Funktionsfläche), that is all rooms and technical areas
• communication surfaces (VF Verkehrsfläche), ie fixed and movable stairs and ramps and intermediate platforms between them (except floor platforms), lift shafts, communication surfaces for vehicles, roads, stairs and balconies that are mainly used as roads evacuation and rescue, entrance halls, shopping roads and atrium in the case of shopping centers
• Plan projection surfaces (KGF Konstruktions- Grundfläche):
• external walls
• plan surfaces of ascending structural elements such as walls and supports
• The surface areas of the projections surrounding the technical service walls and communication areas that belong to MF-0
• surfaces of canals and shafts, chimneys and combined cellars, which according to the German Standard DIN 277 are the projection surfaces of the structure.

All these types of plans surfaces are the area of rental when they are the consequence of the individual request of the tenant. This happens when they are clearly agreed between the landlord and the tenant.

(MF-G) – surfaces that are the subject of the lease

• The MF-G surfaces include the surface area of the gross projection surface and which is not included in the MF-0 surface.
• According to the GIF directive, the surface area of the partition between tenants that don’t belong to the MF-0 surface is allocated to the tenants of adjacent areas in half
• In addition, parking spaces aren’t show as MF-G, but they can be rented
• depending on the rental situation, the MF-G rental area may be assigned to the rental area: with exclusive use rights (MF-G1) or with the right of common use (MF-G2).

Differences in surface compared to other standards

In 2016 I made a compilation of standards to compare the same rental space of one standard office building floor according to different standards. The summary has been made averaged measurement data of my company since 2008r. on the basis of measured 3 million m2. The reference to the statement was the BOMA standard (it was assumed to be 100% of the area), because without any modifications BOMA Standard gives the largest areas for rental purposes. The GIF Standard in this ranking is only in 6th place with 93%. This means that compared to the BOMA standard it gives 7% less space. Tegova – 98% followed by PN-ISO 9836: 1997-95%, UOPiOL – 94% and RICS – 93%.

Modifications to the GIF Standard

Each standard can be modified and worth doing for several reasons. The first is that investors and managers want to increase the rental area and often include areas of various elements that don’t fall into the standard as a standard. Another reason for the modification is the immunization of lease agreements for all renovations of the building and the finishing of premises by tenants. Placement into the lease area, for example: partition walls, eliminates the necessity of annexation in the agreements of the area. This also applies to space assignments and the calculation of common floor, building and complex coefficients. Note: The GIF Standard doesn’t describe bunker and tower ratings. Possible inclusion of common areas in lease areas included in the GIF lease agreement – is a modification of the standard! For more on modifying norms and methods for calculating common surface coefficients, see other articles on the blog at www.geodezyjny.com. Modification of standards is also practiced if the investor wants to save on a surface measurement order by another standard. From one standard – for example: in the Tegova standard – thanks to modifications you can get surfaces larger than the standard BOMA. In the case of PN-ISO 9836: 1997, modifications can be made to areas similar to the BOMA Standard. All these modifications are designed to save time and money to property managers.

Examples of modifications in the GIF standard

The basic modification in the GIF Standard may include the introduction of rental area, floor and building and complex add-on factors. This is the element where you can increase your rental space, because as I’ve written before, the GIF doesn’t include common parts in rent. More precisely, in standard there is no such concept as floor and building add-on factor. These factors are formally only in the BOMA Standard. Unfortunately from the practice and insight into lease agreements I know that very often in other standards they are included there, what creates many tenants’ claims. Another example of modifications to the GIF Standard may include the surface area of ​​a tenant’s interior structure (columns, walls, etc.). I underline that any modifications must be included in the tenancy agreement and in the graphic annex to the floor plans that should form an integral part of the tenancy agreement. For more information on the article “Leasel Agreement – Examles of rental regulations“.

2017 – “boom” on the GIF standard

I wrote in the introduction that this year in my company I saw a increase in requests for quotations and commissioned area measurements according to the GIF Standard. Develop the topic that this is due to the fact that many German investors enter the Polish market with their services and products. This in turn involves the need to buy real estate or rent. Last year I also performed a benchmark (on the same sample of 3 million m2 of the last 10 measurements) for the most commonly used surface measurement standard. 70.2% of the surface measurements were BOMA, followed by ISO 9836: 1997 (10.0%), Tegova (9.9%), GIF (5.0%) and RICS (4.9% ). Currently we have half of 2017. And I admit that this year’s data will certainly change a lot. I have previously stated that the GIF has jumped to second place compared to last year (Comparison from 2016 to 2017).

Data on GIF measurement principles in the above article were compiled on the basis of the “Directive on the calculation of space for occupational living spaces (MF-G)”, 1 November 2014.

Measure it soon!