How to Calculate Your Occupant Load for a Commercial Space
You calculate your occupant load area by area, using the floor area per occupant that the code sets for each use (Florida Building Code, Building, Table 1004.5).
At Reach Commercial Real Estate, we represent tenants. We help you find locations, compare costs, investigate property questions and negotiate the lease.
1. Find the floor area per occupant for your use
The code lists the floor area per occupant, in net or gross square feet, for each use (Florida Building Code, Building, Table 1004.5):
Assembly without fixed seats, unconcentrated (tables and chairs): 15 net.
Assembly without fixed seats, concentrated (chairs only): 7 net.
Assembly without fixed seats, standing space: 5 net.
Exercise rooms: 50 gross.
Mercantile: 60 gross.
Business areas: 150 gross.
Commercial kitchens: 200 gross.
Stages and platforms: 15 net.
2. Calculate your occupant load for each area
Divide the square feet of each area by the floor area per occupant for its use. Here are four examples:
A coffee shop dining area of 600 net square feet with tables and chairs holds 40 occupants, at 15 net square feet per occupant.
A commercial kitchen of 1,000 gross square feet counts 5 occupants, at 200 gross square feet per occupant.
A fitness studio exercise room of 1,000 gross square feet counts 20 occupants, at 50 gross square feet per occupant.
A boutique sales floor of 1,800 gross square feet counts 30 occupants, at 60 gross square feet per occupant.
3. Check where your number falls against the 50-person line
A building or tenant space used for assembly with an occupant load of less than 50 people is Group B (Florida Building Code, Building, section 303.1.1).
Group A-2 covers assembly uses for food and drink. That includes restaurants, cafeterias and similar dining facilities with their commercial kitchens, taverns and bars, nightclubs and banquet halls (section 303.3).
Gymnasiums without spectator seating are Group A-3 (section 303.4). Barber and beauty shops and martial arts studios are Group B (section 304.1).
With tables and chairs, 735 net square feet holds 49 occupants and 750 net square feet holds 50. A tenant space used for assembly at a load of 49 is Group B.
With chairs only, 350 net square feet holds 50. Standing, 250 net square feet holds 50.
4. See what your occupant load does to the sprinkler rules
Group A-2 needs sprinklers in any of these cases (Florida Building Code, Building, section 903.2.1.2):
The fire area is over 5,000 square feet.
The fire area occupant load is 100 or more.
The fire area is on a floor other than the level of exit discharge.
A restaurant, cafeteria or similar dining facility, including an associated commercial kitchen, is an exception. It needs sprinklers only if its fire area occupancy load is 200 patrons or more. At 15 net square feet per occupant, 100 occupants is 1,500 net square feet of tables and chairs, and 200 is 3,000.
Group A-3 needs sprinklers in any of these cases (section 903.2.1.3):
The fire area is over 12,000 square feet.
The occupant load is 300 or more.
The fire area is on a floor other than the level of exit discharge.
5. See what your occupant load does to the restrooms
The plumbing code takes its occupant count from the building code (Florida Building Code, Plumbing, section 403.1).
A space needs separate toilet facilities for each sex, except in these cases (section 403.2):
A tenant space with a total occupant load of 15 or fewer, counting employees and customers.
A mercantile space with an occupant load of 100 or fewer.
A business space with an occupant load of 25 or fewer.
At 60 gross square feet per occupant, 100 occupants is 6,000 gross square feet of mercantile space. At 150 gross, 25 occupants is 3,750 gross square feet of business area.
Business and mercantile spaces with an occupant load of 15 or fewer do not need a service sink (Table 403.1, footnote e).
6. Take your number into the search
We map headcount, parking, power and signage before you tour.
For promising spaces, bring your contractor and design professional into the review. We help gather property information. They evaluate the technical work and cost.
In the lease, ask for a use clause and a permit contingency.
Extra items to add to your list
Locker rooms. The code counts them at 50 gross square feet per occupant (Florida Building Code, Building, Table 1004.5).
Outdoor areas. Outdoor areas used as part of the occupancy count toward plumbing fixtures (Florida Building Code, Plumbing, section 403.1.4).
Women's toilets in assembly spaces. The ratio is 3 women's toilets to 2 men's toilets and urinals (Florida Building Code, Plumbing, section 403.1.3).
Start your search with Reach
You do not need to find the property before calling us. In most deals the landlord pays our fee.
Call 321-514-0876 with your business type, seating goal, square footage and target opening date, or with the address of a space you have found.
See tenant representation and the space needs analysis.
Related: the Brevard County Commercial Rent Guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an occupant load be higher than the table gives?
Yes, if all other requirements of the code are met on that number. The load cannot be more than one occupant per 7 square feet of occupiable floor space (Florida Building Code, Building, section 1004.5.1).
How large can a commercial kitchen be and still be Group B?
2,500 square feet, if the kitchen is not associated with a restaurant, cafeteria or similar dining facility. Above 2,500 square feet it is Group F-1 (Florida Building Code, Building, sections 304.1 and 306.2).
What does a certificate of occupancy say about the occupant load?
It states the design occupant load. It also states whether a sprinkler system is required (Florida Building Code, Building, section 111.2).
Sources
Written by Cassandra Hartford, founder and CEO of Reach Commercial Real Estate. She has worked in Brevard County commercial real estate for 17 years, representing buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants across Florida's Space Coast.
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