Last updated: September 27, 2026
What does gross leasable area mean?
Gross leasable area (GLA) describes leasable space under a specified measurement convention. It is commonly used for retail property. The property's area schedule, applicable standard and lease definitions determine the measured boundaries and included spaces. A GLA label alone does not establish how every building should be measured.
Identify the measurement basis first
Ask which standard, edition and property type the reported figure uses. BOMA publishes separate retail, office, industrial and other measurement standards. Retail GLA and office rentable area have different frameworks; do not substitute one for the other merely because both appear in rent quotations. See BOMA's standards overview .
Walls, ancillary areas, mezzanines and other features must be treated according to the governing convention. General statements about excluding every hallway or restroom can be misleading without identifying whether a space serves the building or belongs within a particular tenant's premises. Reconcile the measured schedule with the lease and the actual configuration.
A GLA calculation example
Assume an area schedule reports three non-overlapping retail spaces as 2,000, 3,000 and 5,000 sq ft of GLA, all measured under the same stated retail convention. Their combined GLA is:
2,000 + 3,000 + 5,000 = 10,000 sq ft.
This sums already measured areas. It does not provide a universal conversion from gross floor area, a building footprint or usable office space to GLA. Confirm which spaces are included in the total and avoid double counting.
GLA and common-area costs are different questions
Under BOMA retail measurement, an allocation of common areas is not added to tenant GLA. A lease can still require a tenant to contribute toward common-area maintenance or other expenses. The physical area used for base rent and the expense-allocation formula must be read separately.
An office lease may instead quote rentable area after applicable allocations. Our commercial floor-area comparison and BOMA guide explain these distinctions.
Use consistent figures in analysis and marketing
When comparing rent per square foot, identify whether the denominator is GLA, usable area, rentable area or another measure. Use the same time period for rent and separate base rent from additional charges. Vacancy does not necessarily remove a measured leasable space from a property's total; distinguish area from its current occupancy and income.
Record the source, date, units and measurement basis next to area figures. Resolve differences between plans, leases and marketing summaries before publishing them. A qualified measurement professional can establish the underlying areas; marketing software helps present the reviewed results.
Use CREOP's marketing software to organize verified property information, plans and financial summaries, and view finished marketing examples .