Encyclopedia
Remeasurement
Re-measuring space to confirm its area under the lease's standard.
For example: A tenant asks for remeasurement after suspecting the area is overstated. (Illustration only, not a real deal.)
This is a general industry term with no single official definition. Your lease or contract wording controls.
Example only, not a real client. Say your lease lets the landlord remeasure the building. After a remeasurement, your unit’s rentable area goes up, and so does your rent and share of costs, even though your space has not changed. Because you negotiated a cap on increases, the impact is limited.
What I’d tell a friend
Check whether your lease allows remeasurement and whether rent can rise because of it. Try to limit that in the lease.
Why it matters to you
If the landlord remeasures and finds more area, your rent can go up without you gaining a square foot. Ask for the measurement standard in the lease and a cap on any increase.
How to use it in your deal
Tenants should ask what measurement standard and version is used before signing, and whether the lease allows remeasurement during the term. If it does, check whether rent adjusts up as well as down, and whether there's a cap. Ask for the measurement certificate or drawings.
Landlords sometimes remeasure a building after renovations or when switching to a newer Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) standard, which can increase rentable area through a higher load factor. Buyers should check that rent rolls match the measured areas, because a mismatch can change income. If you think the area is wrong, hire your own measurer before arguing.
Lease language matters: some leases fix the area for the whole term no matter what a remeasurement shows. Ask for that clause if you're a tenant; landlords may resist. Operating cost shares often depend on area too, so a remeasurement can change your share of costs even if base rent is fixed. Keep a copy of the drawings you agreed to, and check them before any renewal.
Mistakes I see
Not knowing the standard used. Not checking whether rent adjusts. Ignoring the effect on operating costs.
In BC and Vancouver
Lease terms govern; BOMA publishes measurement standards.
Official sources: Commercial Tenancy Act (BC Laws)
What it means
Remeasurement is measuring a unit or building again, often under an updated standard. It can change the rentable area and therefore rent and cost shares.
Measurement standards have changed over time, which can make areas grow without any physical change.
Protecting yourself
Ask for the measurement standard to be named in the lease and for a right to review any new measurement.
Negotiate that rent does not rise from remeasurement during the term, or that any change is capped. Check the wording with a BC lawyer.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Which standard is used?
- Can it be remeasured?
- Does rent change both ways?
- Can I see the drawings?
Keep reading
Related terms: Rentable area, BOMA measurement
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General information for British Columbia only. It isn’t legal, tax, accounting or financial advice, laws and rates change, and reading it doesn’t make you my client. Any numbers or scenarios are hypothetical. Check the linked official source and talk to a lawyer, accountant or other qualified professional before you act or sign anything. See the terms and disclaimer.