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Title 40 — Public Buildings, Property, and WorksRelease 119-73not60

§586 Charges for Space and Services

Title 40 › Subtitle SUBTITLE I— FEDERAL PROPERTY AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES › Chapter 5— PROPERTY MANAGEMENT › Subchapter V— OPERATION OF BUILDINGS AND RELATED ACTIVITIES › § 586

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The head of the General Services Administration (GSA) must charge for providing space and related services. "Space and services" means things like rooms or offices, services, housing or quarters, upkeep, repairs, and other building facilities. The GSA sets the prices and rules and tries to make the prices similar to what businesses would charge. If GSA only handles changes to a building, prices should just cover the cost of those changes. GSA can excuse someone from paying when charging is impractical, and appropriations can be used to make up any lost revenue. Other federal agencies may also charge for space and services if GSA approves the rates. Money collected goes back to the account that paid for the space or service. Extra money above actual operating and maintenance costs goes to miscellaneous receipts unless another law says otherwise. An agency may pay rent to GSA for lease space for expansion. Those payments go into the Federal Buildings Fund and can be used, along with New Obligational Authority, for the Fund’s Rental of Space activity.

Full Legal Text

Title 40, §586

Public Buildings, Property, and Works — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In this section, “space and services” means space, services, quarters, maintenance, repair, and other facilities.
(b)(1)The Administrator of General Services shall impose a charge for furnishing space and services.
(2)The Administrator shall, from time to time, determine the rates to be charged for furnishing space and services and shall prescribe regulations providing for the rates. The rates shall approximate commercial charges for comparable space and services. However, for a building for which the Administrator is responsible for alterations only (as the term “alter” is defined in section 3301(a) of this title), the rates shall be fixed to recover only the approximate cost incurred in providing alterations.
(3)The Administrator may exempt anyone from the charges required by this subsection when the Administrator determines that charges would be infeasible or impractical. To the extent an exemption is granted, appropriations to the General Services Administration are authorized to reimburse the Federal Buildings Fund for any loss of revenue.
(c)(1)An executive agency, other than the Administration, may impose a charge for furnishing space and services at rates approved by the Administrator.
(2)An amount an executive agency receives under this subsection shall be credited to the appropriation or fund initially charged for providing the space or service. However, amounts in excess of actual operating and maintenance costs shall be credited to miscellaneous receipts unless otherwise provided by law.
(d)An agency may make rent payments to the Administration for lease space relating to expansion needs of the agency. Payment rates shall approximate commercial charges for comparable space as provided in subsection (b). Payments shall be deposited into the Federal Buildings Fund. The Administration may use amounts received under this subsection, in addition to amounts received as New Obligational Authority, in the Rental of Space activity of the Fund.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 586(a), (b)40:490(j).June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title II, § 210(j), (k), as added Pub. L. 92–313, § 4, June 16, 1972, 86 Stat. 219. 586(c)40:490(k). 586(d)40:490f.Pub. L. 102–393, title IV, § 5, Oct. 6, 1992, 106 Stat. 1750. In subsection (b)(3), the words “Federal Buildings Fund” are substituted for “the fund” for clarity and to execute the probable intent of Congress. section 3 and 4 of the Public Buildings

Amendments

of 1972 (Public Law 92–313, 86 Stat. 218) added subsection (j) of 40:490 (in which the words “the fund” appear) and amended subsection (f) to create a fund into which “charges made pursuant to subsection (j)” are deposited (40:490(f)(1)(A)). That fund was subsequently named “Federal Buildings Fund” by section 153(1) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–486, 106 Stat. 2851). If an exemption from charges is granted under 40:490(j), “the fund” that suffers the loss of revenue is the Federal Buildings Fund. In subsection (d), the words “on and after October 6, 1992” are omitted as obsolete. The words “subsection (b)” are substituted for “section 201(j) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended (40 U.S.C. 490(j))” in section 5(a) of the Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. section 201 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 does not contain a subsection (j) and the intended reference was probably “section 210(j)”, which is restated in this section. The text of 40:490f(b) is omitted as executed.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

40 U.S.C. § 586

Title 40 — Public Buildings, Property, and Works

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60