LEEDuser’s viewpoint
Explore this LEED credit
Post your questions on this credit in the forum, and click on the credit language tab to review to the LEED requirements.
Credit language
Intent
The LEED rating system is designed to evaluate buildings, spaces, and neighborhoods in the context of their surroundings. A significant portion of LEED requirements are dependent on the project’s location, therefore it is important that LEED projects are evaluated as permanent structures. Locating projects on existing land is important to avoid artificial land masses that have the potential to displace and disrupt ecosystems.
Requirements
All LEED projects must be constructed and operated on a permanent location on existing land. No project that is designed to move at any point in its lifetime may pursue LEED certification. This requirement applies to all land within the LEED project.
Additional guidance
Permanent location
- Movable buildings are not eligible for LEED. This includes boats and mobile homes.
- Prefabricated or modular structures and building elements may be certified once permanently installed as part of the LEED project.
Existing land
- Buildings located on previously constructed docks, piers, jetties, infill, and other manufactured structures in or above water are permissible, provided that the artificial land was not constructed by the owner of the LEED project for the express purpose of constructing the LEED project.
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What does it cost?
Cost estimates for this credit
On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.
Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.
This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.
Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »
Addenda
7/2/2018 – Updated: 1/19/2022
Rating System Correction
Description of change: Under Existing Land, revise the sentence to read as follows:
"Buildings located on previously constructed docks, piers, jetties, infill, and other manufactured structures in or above water are permissible, provided that the artificial land was not constructed by the owner of the LEED project for the express purpose of constructing the LEED project."
Internationally Applicable: Yes
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Documentation toolkit
The motherlode of cheat sheets
LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit is loaded with calculators to help assess credit compliance, tracking spreadsheets for materials, sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions, and examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects for you to check your work against. To get your plaque, start with the right toolkit.
