Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa August 2013 | Page 39

REI Commercial

New Method For Measuring
Floor Areas

Private And Public Sector
Meet

Green Is In

SAPOA’s new method for measuring f loor
areas is a far more accurate means of measuring
f loor areas for off ice, retail and industrial
space is recommended for both existing and
new buildings in order to achieve national
uniformity in regard to the measurement of
rentable area. “In general, landlords benefit
from the fact that the remote common areas
are now allocated on a proportionate basis to
tenants. On the other hand, total rentable areas
decrease because supplementary common areas
now come out of the total rentable area of a
building and are listed separately and charged
at a rate or cost at the landlord’s discretion,”
explains Sean Liebenberg of Excellerate
Facilities Management.

Thulas Nxesi, Minister of Public Works, recently
held an open meeting with the South African
private sector property owners to iron out
challenges and discuss issues of mutual interest.
The meeting comes in the light of his keenness
to boost transparency in government property
leasing activity with all property stakeholders.
In the first meeting of its kind since the dawn
of democracy, the Department of Public Works
and property owners gathered at the Park Hyatt
in Johannesburg.

It’s inevitable that South African property
developers and businesses are embracing
sustainability development as the number of
buildings achieving Green Star SA ratings has
increased. June proved a bumper month for
green building certifications with a total of six
new buildings receiving a Green Star SA rating
from the Green Building Council South Africa.
This upsurge further substantiates that the green
building movement is rapidly gaining ground
in South Africa as developers and progressive
businesses increasingly embr