The database is split into two property types, air-conditioned and non airconditioned. The ‘Definition of terms’ describes the principal cost categories and geographical regions utilised within the report.
We continued work to align Office OSCAR with the new RICS Service Charge Cost Code.
Insurance
Insurance costs are excluded from OSCAR for two reasons:
- firstly, insurance premiums now rarely feature within service charges and are typically direct-charged to tenants instead.
- secondly, there is little point comparing insurance costs without having regard to the breadth and quality of cover, together with the nature of commission payments.
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Interest
To facilitate level benchmarking, we have elected to disregard any interest receipts included within the service charge reconciliations contributed to the dataset.
Exceptional Expenditure
Exceptional Expenditure is excluded, allowing like-for-like comparison of Base-level service charge costs.
Benchmarking Approach
Office OSCAR is intended principally to assist in benchmarking and forecasting service charge costs. However, buildings differ substantially in terms of construction, age, layout, gross to net floor area ratio, staffing and security levels, hours of operation and standards of maintenance and management. All these factors must be taken into account when drawing from the data found within OSCAR. To assist, we provide what may be regarded as an acceptable range in service charge costs. This is done by quoting upper and lower limits that capture the middle 50% of sample values.
Statistical Technique
- The upper and lower limits quoted are calculated at plus and minus 0.7 standard deviations from the arithmetic mean. This is designed to capture the middle 50% of values, assuming that the data has normal distribution.
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Conventions
- In line with market practice, OSCAR data is quoted excluding VAT.
- Metric equivalents have been shown where practical, rounded to the nearest convenient equivalent, but the analysis is principally in imperial data.
- The costs do not include the direct recharges borne by occupiers in relation to their own demised areas.
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