Incomplete spaces in BD+C

LEED v4 BD+C projects are required to have at least 60% of the gross floor area completed at the time of certification. Historically, project teams were allowed to pursue LEED Canada NC 2009 if at least 50% of the gross floor area was completed at the time of certification. However, under LEED v4, no more than 40% may be incomplete, unless the project is certifying under the LEED BD+C: Core and Shell (CS) rating system.

BD+C: Core & Shell

The scope of Core and Shell (CS) projects are limited; as a result, only portions of the project within the LEED scope are included in credit calculations. If a project team wishes to apply for credits that are beyond the scope of design and construction of the LEED project, a tenant sales and lease agreement, signed by future tenants, must be provided. The lease agreement must be binding and include terms on how credit requirements will be met by the tenant. An unsigned or sample lease agreement is not acceptable. For example to take credit for savings from not yet installed plumbing fixtures for WE credit Indoor Water Use Reduction in a tenant space of a CS project, the project team must submit a signed and executed legally binding tenant sales and lease agreement. If a signed and executed legally binding tenant sales and lease agreement is not provided, project teams must assume that the as yet installed plumbing fixtures have baseline water consumption rates. Please note that lease agreements are not required in order to pursue CS certification. They are only used if a project is aiming to earn additional points for measures that are considered outside of the project design and construction scope that will be fit-out by a future tenant.

For more information refer to the Incomplete Spaces and Tenant Sales and Lease Agreement portions under Maintaining Consistency in the Getting Started section in the Credit Library. Also be sure to refer to the Rating System Variations portion of the Further Explanation Section within each credit, for credit specific guidance.

All BD+C adaptions EXCEPT CS

For incomplete spaces intended to be finished by tenants, unlike LEED Canada NC 2009, project teams are not required to provide copies of mandatory lease agreements, unless attempting to claim savings. Instead, submit a set of nonbinding tenant design and construction guidelines, with a brief explanation of the project circumstances. Similar to CS above, for prerequisites with established baselines (e.g., WE Prerequisite Indoor Water Use, EA Prerequisite Minimum Energy Performance) and the credits dependent on the calculations in the prerequisites, the proposed design must be equivalent to the baseline for the incomplete spaces. Project teams that wish to claim environmental performance or benefit beyond the baseline for incomplete spaces must have binding Tenant Lease and Sales Agreements (e.g., signed by the future tenant).

For incomplete spaces intended to be finished later by the owner, similar to LEED Canada NC 2009, a letter of commitment, signed by the owner, indicating that the remaining incomplete spaces will satisfy the requirements of each prerequisite and credit achieved by this project must be submitted. However, unlike LEED Canada NC 2009, this letter may cover the commitment in general terms and need not address each prerequisite or credit individually.

For more information refer to the Incomplete Spaces and Tenant Sales and Lease Agreement portions under Maintaining Consistency in the Getting Started section in the Credit Library.