MINIMUM PROGRAM
REQUIREMENTS
LAST UPDATED:
January 2011
LEED 2009
Minimum Program Requirements
Apply to
LEED 2009 for New Construction and Major Renovations, LEED 2009 for Core & Shell
development, LEED 2009 for Schools, LEED 2009 for Commercial Interiors, and LEED
2009 for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, LEED for Retail – New
Construction, LEED for Retail – Commercial Interiors, LEED for Healthcare
Do not apply to LEED for Homes, LEED for Neighborhood Development, or any
LEED rating system adopted prior to 2009
Version January 2011
The only change made in this version is the indication that the MPRs apply to recently
launched rating systems. These rating systems include: LEED for Retail – New
Construction, LEED for Retail – Commercial Interiors, and LEED for Healthcare
INTRODUCTION
This document identifies the MPRs, or minimum characteristics that a project must
possess in order to be eligible for LEED Certification. These requirements define the
types of buildings that the LEED Green Building Rating Systems were designed to
evaluate, and taken together serve three goals: to give clear guidance to customers, to
protect the integrity of the LEED program, and to reduce complications that occur during
the LEED certification process. The requirements in this document will apply to all those,
and only those projects seeking to demonstrate conformance with the rating systems
listed above.
Definitions, exceptions, and more extensive guidance relating to these MPRs are
available in a separate document titled: LEED 2009 MPR Supplemental Guidance. Terms
that are italicized and underlined here are defined in the Supplemental Guidance
document (they are marked as such only the first time that they appear).
At this time U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. has authorized the Green Building
Certification Institute (GBCI) to confer LEED Certification. GBCI has agreed to consider
requests for exceptions to MPRs that are not already defined in the LEED 2009 MPR
Supplemental Guidance document on a case-by-case basis for special circumstances.
In addition to complying with the MPRs, a project must also demonstrate compliance with
all rating system requirements in order to achieve LEED Certification.
1. MUST
M
CO
OMPLY WITH
W
EN
NVIRON
NMENTA
AL LAWS
S
New Construc
ction, Core
e & Shell, Schools
s, Commerrcial Interriors,
Retaiil – New Co
onstruction, Retail – Commerc
cial Interiorrs, Healthc
care
The LEED
L
project building or space, all otther real pro
operty within the LEED project
p
bound
dary, and all project workk must comp
ply with applicable federal, state, and local
buildin
ng-related envvironmental la
aws and regu
ulations in place where the
e project is loccated.
This condition
c
must be satisfie
ed from the date of LE
EED project registration
r
o the
or
commencement of schematic design,
d
whichever comes first,
f
up and until the date
e that
es a certificate
e of occupanccy or similar official
o
indicattion that it is fit
f and
the building receive
ready for use.
Existting Buildin
ngs: O&M
The LE
EED project building,
b
all other
o
real prop
perty within th
he LEED projject boundaryy, any
projectt work, and all normal building
b
operations occurring within the LEED project
p
buildin
ng and the LE
EED project boundary
b
musst comply witth applicable federal, state
e, and
local building-relate
b
ed environme
ental laws an
nd regulationss in place wh
here the project is
located
d. This condition must be
e satisfied from
m the comme
encement of the
t LEED pro
oject’s
initial LEED-EB: O&M
O
perform
mance period through the expiration date
d
of the LEED
cation.
Certific
All Rating Systems
A laps
se in a projecct’s compliancce with a build
ding-related environmenta
e
al law or regu
ulation
that re
esults from an
a unforesee
en and unavo
oidable circu
umstance sha
all not necesssarily
result in non-compliance with th
his MPR. Such lapses shall be excuse
ed so long ass they
mediated as soon
s
as feasibly possible.
are rem
2. MUST
M
BE
E A COM
MPLETE
E, PERM
MANENT BUILDIING
OR SPACE
All Rating Systems
All LEED projects must
m
be designed for, con
nstructed on, and operate
ed on a permanent
on on alreadyy existing land
d. LEED pro
ojects shall not consist of mobile strucctures,
locatio
equipm
ment, or vehiccles. No build
ding or space
e that is desig
gned to move
e at any pointt in its
lifetime
e may pursue
e LEED Certiffication.
New Constructtion, Core & Shell, Sc
chools, Re
etail – New
w Construction,
Healtthcare
LEED projects mu
ust include th
he new, ground-up desig
gn and consstruction, or major
ation, of at lea
ast one comm
mercial, institutional, or hig
gh-rise reside
ential building
g in its
renova
entiretty.
Comm
mercial Intteriors, Retail – Commercial Intteriors,
The LEED
L
project scope mustt include a complete
c
inte
erior space distinct
d
from other
spaces
s within the
e same build
ding with re
egards to at least one of the follo
owing
charac
cteristics: own
nership, mana
agement, leasse, or party wall
w separation
n.
ngs: O&M
Existting Buildin
LEED projects musst include at least one exxisting commercial, institutional, or high-rise
residential building in its entirety.
3. MUST
M
US
SE A RE
EASONA
ABLE SIT
TE BOUNDARY
New Construc
ction, Core
e and Shell, Schoo
ols, Existiing Buildings:
O&M, Retail – New
N
Consttruction, Healthcare
1. The LEED project bounndary must innclude all conntiguous land that is assocciated
2.
3.
4.
5.
s
norm
mal building operations for
f the LEED
D project buiilding,
with and supports
including all land that wa
as or will be disturbed for the purpose of undertakin
ng the
ect.
LEED proje
The LEED project boundary may nott include land
d that is owne
ed by a party other
w
owns th
he LEED projject unless th
hat land is asssociated with
h and
than that which
supports no
ormal building
g operations for
f the LEED project building.
LEED proje
ects located on
o a campus must have prroject bounda
aries such tha
at if all
the building
gs on campu
us become LE
EED certified
d, then 100% of the grosss land
area on th
he campus would be in
ncluded within a LEED boundary. If this
requiremen
nt is in conflictt with MPR #7, Must Comply with Minim
mum Building
g Area
to Site Area
a Ratio, then MPR #7 will take
t
preceden
nce.
Any given parcel
p
of real property mayy only be attrributed to a siingle LEED project
p
building.
dering of a LE
EED project boundary is prrohibited: the boundary ma
ay not
Gerrymand
unreasonab
bly exclude sections
s
of land to creatte boundariess in unreaso
onable
shapes for the sole purp
pose of compllying with prerequisites or credits.
Comm
mercial Intteriors, Rettail – Comm
mercial Interriors
If any land was or will
w be disturb
bed for the pu
urpose of undertaking the LEED
L
projectt, then
ncluded within
n the LEED project bounda
ary.
that land must be in
4. MUST
M
CO
OMPLY WITH
W
MINIMUM
M FLOOR
R AREA
REQ
QUIREM
MENTS
New Construc
ction, Core
e and Shell, Schoo
ols, Existiing Buildings:
O&M, Retail – New
N
Consttruction, Healthcare
The LEED project must include
e a minimum of 1,000 squ
uare feet (93 square mete
ers) of
f
area.
gross floor
Comm
mercial Intteriors, Retail – Commercial Intteriors
The LEED project must include
e a minimum
m of 250 squa
are feet (22 square mete
ers) of
f
area.
gross floor
5. MUST COM
MPLY WIITH MINIM
MUM OC
CCUPANC
CY RATE
ES
New Construc
ction, Core
e & Shell, Schools
s, Commerrcial Interriors,
Retaiil – New Co
onstruction, Retail – Commerc
cial Interiorrs, Healthc
care
Full Tiime Equivalen
nt Occupancyy
The LEED
L
projectt must serve
e 1 or more
e Full Time Equivalent (F
FTE) occupa
ant(s),
calcula
ated as an an
nnual average
e in order to use
u LEED in its entirety. Iff the project serves
s
less th
han 1 annua
alized FTE, optional
o
cred
dits from the Indoor Enviironmental Quality
Q
catego
ory may not be earned (the
e prerequisite
es must still be
e earned).
Existting Buildin
ngs: O&M
Full Tiime Equivalen
nt Occupancyy
The LEED
L
projectt must serve
e 1 or more
e Full Time Equivalent (F
FTE) occupa
ant(s),
calcula
ated as an an
nnual average
e in order to use
u LEED in its entirety. Iff the project serves
s
less th
han 1 annua
alized FTE, optional
o
cred
dits from the Indoor Enviironmental Quality
Q
catego
ory may not be earned (the
e prerequisite
es must still be
e earned).
um Occupanccy Rate
Minimu
The LEED project must be in a state of tyypical physiccal occupancyy, and all bu
uilding
ms must be operating at a capacity neccessary to serrve the curren
nt occupants,, for a
system
period that includess all performa
ance periods as
a well as at least the 12 continuous
c
m
months
diately preced
ding the first submission
s
fo
or a review.
immed
M
CO
OMMIT TO
T SHAR
RING WHOLE-B
W
BUILDING
6. MUST
ENE
ERGY AND WAT
TER USA
AGE DA
ATA
All Rating Systems
All cerrtified projectss must commit to sharing with
w USGBC and/or
a
GBCI all available actual
a
whole--project energ
gy and water usage data for
f a period of
o at least 5 years.
y
This period
p
starts on the date that the LEE
ED project be
egins typical physical
p
occu
upancy if certtifying
uction, Core & Shell, Schools, or Comm
mercial Interiors, or the datte that
under New Constru
uilding is awa
arded certifica
ation if certifyying under Exxisting Buildings: Operatio
ons &
the bu
Mainte
enance. Sharring this data
a includes supplying inform
mation on a regular basiss in a
free, accessible,
a
an
nd secure onliine tool or, if necessary,
n
ta
aking any action to authorizze the
collecttion of inform
mation directlyy from service
e or utility pro
oviders. This commitment must
carry forward
f
if the building or sp
pace changess ownership or
o lessee.
7. MUST
M
CO
OMPLY WITH
W
A MINIMU
UM BUIL
LDING
ARE
EA TO SITE
S
ARE
EA RATIO
All Rating Systems
The grross floor are
ea of the LEE
ED project building must be no less tha
an 2% of the gross
land area within the
e LEED projecct boundary.