Are Agencies and Landlords required to go through Real Property & Leasing prior to searching or negotiating for leased space?
By law, a state agency (other than the university system) may not lease, rent, or purchase property for office space or other building space without the prior approval of the Department of Administration (section 2-17-101 (2) MCA). To gain this approval, the General Services Division, Real Property & Leasing office has established a series of parameters that must be met before the department will approve a lease. Although compliance with these parameters doesn't guarantee approval of a lease, it generally expedites the process. Agencies and Landlords are required to contact the Department of Administration's Leasing Officer prior to searching or negotiating for leased space.
What analysis factors are considered when setting up leases for state agencies?
Rate and Potential Cost Savings, Consolidation, or Co-Location of Agencies, Length of Lease Proposal, Special agency requirements (security, laboratories, etc), Quality of Space (location, type of construction, accessibility by the public, etc ) , Existing IT, Telecommunication infrastructure.
What is the maximum square footage that can be leased in a single lease?
40,000; requests for larger area must be approved by the legislature via the Long-Range Building Program.
Are there limits on the square footage allowed per FTE?
Allocated space for new leases must be no more than 300 square feet per FTE. This figure has been established by Real Property & Leasing as an economical amount of space per FTE.
How is a real property lease defined?
A real property lease is a contractual agreement by which an owner of real property (the lessor) gives the right of possession to another (the lessee), for a specified period of time (the term) for a specified consideration (rent).
How long can my lease be in effect?
By Statute the maximum lease length is 20 years; requests for longer lease terms must be approved by the legislature via the Long-Range Building Program.
How is cost per square foot defined?
Cost per square foot is an annualized value. That is, it represents a duration of 12 months or one year. For example, a 1,000 square foot space renting for $7.50/sq ft would cost $7,500.00 to lease for one year. The monthly payments are calculated by dividing this annual total by 12. For this example, the monthly payments would be $625.00.
Where can I find more information about the Real Property & Leasing program?
