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LEASING OF OFF-CAMPUS SPACE

Property Office (PRO)

PROCEDURE 1

Effective Date: 02/10/2003

Last Modified Date: 08/16/2004

Procedure Description

When additional space is needed and is not available from the University, the Property Office helps the requesting department locate possible suitable space and determines rental cost. Procedures vary depending on the amount of rent and the length of the lease. Additional steps are required if Facilities & Administrative (F&A) funds will be used for rental payments.

Procedure Steps

  1. When needing additional space, first determine through regular administrative channels (department head, dean, etc.) whether University-owned space is available before seeking off-campus space.

  2. If University-owned space is not available, complete a Lease Request Form (PRO Appendix 1), and submit the completed form to the Property Office.

  3. Departments that anticipate the use of Facilities & Administrative (F&A) funds to cover the rent must submit a request to provide F&A funds for this purpose through the appropriate channels (i.e., dean, provost, and ultimately to the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration). If the request is approved, Finance and Administration notifies the Financial Planning & Budgets Office (FP&B) to approve F&A funds. Upon State Budget Office approval, FP&B transfers funds into the Property Office rental account for that purpose.

  4. The Property Office, in cooperation with the department requesting space, locates possible suitable space and determines rental cost.

  5. When satisfactory space is located, determine which of the categories listed below applies, and follow those instructions to complete the leasing process.
    • If annual rent is $5,000 or less and the duration of the lease is three years or less, the University Property Office prepares the lease agreement and secures the signatures of the Lessor and the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration.
    • If annual rent is more than $5,000 but less than $25,000 and the duration of the lease is three years or less, the Property Office prepares and processes Department of Administration Property forms for approvals of the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, the Chancellor, and the Director of the Department of Administration. A member of the Attorney General's staff prepares the lease agreement, and the University Property Office assumes responsibility for execution and implementation of the agreement.
    • If annual rent is more than $25,000 and/or the duration of the lease is more than three years, the department's space liaison, the University Property Office, and a representative of the Facilities Planning and Construction Department prepare specifications detailing space requirements. These specifications are submitted to the State Property Office for approval and authorization to advertise. The need for space is advertised in the local newspaper for five consecutive days, giving a specific cut-off date for the receipt of bids, which must be at least seven days after the last day the ad appears in the newspaper. The State Property Office and the University Property Office and the requesting department inspect the spaces offered by bidders, and select the space. The University Property Office processes the approval through the offices of the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, the Chancellor, the Department of Administration, and the Governor and Council of State.
    • Additionally, if the annual rent exceeds $25,000, the same procedures are followed as above, except that the University's Board of Trustees approves the request prior to its transmittal to the State Property Office for presentation to the Council of State.
    • If the annual rent exceeds $50,000, the above two items apply. In addition, the system's Board of Governors approves the request prior to its transmittal to the State Property Office for presentation to the Council of State.

Additional Information

See also:
PRO Policy 2, Rental of Space to or from the University
PRO Policy 3, Leased Space Policy
PRO Appendix 1, Lease Request Form

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