Addressing Reliance on Costly Leasing
- GSA is authorized by law to enter into leases for most federal agencies. The challenge for GSA is overreliance on costly leases to meet long-term space needs. GAO has reported since the late 1980s that this problem has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and needs to be addressed.
- Overreliance on costly leasing is a major reason that real property management is on GAO’s high-risk list again in 2009. In 2008, for the first time, GSA leased more property than it owned.
- The predilection for leasing has been driven, in part, by federal budget scorekeeping rules, which make operating leases an attractive alternative to ownership. Various other options have been proposed to remedy the problem, but it persists, and reaching a resolution will not be easy.
- With the improvements in federal real property management made thus far and increased commitment by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Congress to address long-standing real property problems, there is reason to be optimistic that stakeholders can reach a consensus on how to address the leasing challenge.
^ Back to topWhat Needs to Be Done
- OMB—in conjunction with the Federal Real Property Council (established by the administration to help support reform efforts in real property) and in consultation with key stakeholders, including GSA—should develop a strategy to reduce agencies’ reliance on leased space for long-term needs when ownership would be less costly.
Highlights of GAO-08-197 (PDF)
^ Back to topKey Reports
- Federal Real Property: An Update on High Risk Issues
- GAO-09-801T, July 15, 2009
- Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 32 pages) Accessible Text
- Federal Real Property: Strategy Needed to Address Agencies' Long-standing Reliance on Costly Leasing
- GAO-08-197, January 24, 2008
- Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 45 pages) Accessible Text Recommendations (HTML)
- Federal Real Property: Progress Made Toward Addressing Problems, but Underlying Obstacles Continue to Hamper Reform
- GAO-07-349, April 13, 2007
- Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 89 pages) Accessible Text Recommendations (HTML)
