Lokalarea (LOA)
Lokalarea, shortened to LOA, is the part of a Swedish building fitted out for something other than housing: offices, shops, storage, workshops, production, teaching or care. It is the figure usually quoted when commercial premises in Sweden are let.
The term is defined in Swedish standard SS 21054:2020, Area och volym för byggnader. The standard divides the usable floor area (bruksarea, BRA) of a building according to how the rooms are used: boarea (BOA) for housing, biarea (BIA) for ancillary rooms serving the home, lokalarea for other uses, and övrig area (ÖVA) for rooms that serve the building itself, such as stairwells and plant rooms. A building with shops on the ground floor and flats above therefore has a lokalarea for the shops and a boarea for the flats, and the two are never added into a single figure in a listing.
The Norwegian counterpart is the commercial area in a building, but Norway has no separate standard measure for it. NS 3940 does not divide the usable floor area by whether it is residential or commercial, so Norwegian commercial premises are quoted as BRA or BTA, and in the lease often as an agreed lettable area. This is where the two differ: a Swedish lokalarea is a standardised, use-based measure, while the Norwegian lettable area is what the parties have agreed, and it may include a share of the common areas.
Lokalarea is also one of the värdefaktorer (value factors) in the fastighetstaxering, the Swedish property tax assessment. The owner of a rental building (hyreshus) reports the lokalarea and boarea to Skatteverket together with the rent for the premises and for the homes, and the taxeringsvärde is based in part on these figures. If the owner lacks the figure for the development right, which is measured as gross area above ground level, it can be calculated as 1.20 times the lokalarea and 1.25 times the boarea. A tenancy in such premises is lokalhyra, with its own rules in the jordabalken (the Swedish land code).
In Placepoint you will find lokalarea for Swedish fastigheter through Combify, from the tax assessment of company-owned fastigheter. The area is split between office, storage and production where this is reported, and appears in the entry for the individual fastighet in Placepoint AI, next to the boarea and the rent that the assessment is based on.
The figure is most useful together with the rent. If you divide the rent for the premises by the lokalarea, you get the rent per m² as the assessment sees it, and you can compare fastigheter in the same area on equal terms. Remember that the rent is stated at the assessment's rent level, not today's market rent, and that a building with empty premises may have a calculated rent rather than an actual one. The lokalarea also says nothing about how much of the building is actually let.
From Placepoint's dictionary: Lokalarea (LOA)
More information: Swedish Institute for Standards: SS 21054:2020, Skatteverket: Så deklarerar du hyreshus
English: Premises area (LOA, per Swedish Standard SS 21054, no direct Norwegian equivalent).
Frequently asked questions
What is lokalarea (LOA)?
Lokalarea is the area in a Swedish building that is fitted out for something other than housing, such as offices, shops, storage and production. It is defined in Swedish standard SS 21054.
What is the difference between lokalarea and boarea?
Boarea (BOA) is the area fitted out for housing. Lokalarea is the area for other uses, such as offices, shops and storage. Both are parts of the usable floor area (bruksarea, BRA) in the Swedish standard, but they are reported separately.
What is the Norwegian counterpart to lokalarea?
Norway has no separate standard measure for commercial area. Norwegian premises are quoted as BRA or BTA under NS 3940, or as an agreed lettable area in the contract.
Why does Skatteverket use lokalarea?
Lokalarea is one of the värdefaktorer that Skatteverket uses when a rental building is assessed, together with the boarea and the rent. The figure forms part of the basis for the taxeringsvärde.
Is lokalarea available in Placepoint?
Yes, for company-owned Swedish fastigheter, through Combify. You will find it in the entry for a fastighet in Placepoint AI, split between office, storage and production where this is reported.