Fitch Affirms HRPT Properties Trust 'BBB' Senior Unsecured Debt Rating.

NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has affirmed the following ratings for HRPT Properties Trust and HRPT Properties, L.P.:

-- Senior unsecured debt at 'BBB';

-- Preferred stock at 'BBB-';

The Rating Outlook remains Stable.

Ratings strengths center on the company's prudent use of leverage and the financial flexibility provided by its significant unencumbered asset base and credit line availability. Total indebtedness for HRPT Properties Trust (HRP) stood at 41.6% of undepreciated book capitalization at the end of first quarter of 2005, which compares favorably to other peers in the rating category. The company's funding profile is also strong and exhibits modest secured borrowings and minimal near-term principal payments with only 3% of debt maturing through the end of 2008. HRP's financial flexibility is demonstrated by its 78% unencumbered property portfolio, which results in coverage of unsecured debt by an estimated 2.0 times (x). In addition, the company has historically maintained substantial availability under its bank line of credit, which as of March 31, 2005 had $670 million of $750 million available.

Additional credit strengths focus on HRP's high credit quality tenant roster with 17% of annual rental income coming from the U.S. Government and an additional 24% coming from other investment-grade rated tenants. After the presence of the U.S. Government, the tenant list is also very diverse, as the next 13 tenants constitute less than 18% of the HRP's annualized rental income. The company displays geographic diversification with a national footprint; although, this is partially offset by some specific market concentration risk as its top four markets (Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and southern California) comprise 45% of total rental income with the top market, Philadelphia representing a significant overweight at 19%. The company benefits from moderate property type diversification with 86% office and 14% industrial by revenue.

HRP's occupancy statistics are strong relative to similar companies. As of March 31, 2005, the company had an overall occupancy rate of 93.7% and was broken down into 92.2% for office properties and 96.5% for industrial properties. Nevertheless, these occupancy increases have not yet been sufficient to produce positive same-store net operating income (NOI) growth. However, recent negative same-store NOI returns have moderated as the average NOI growth for the last three quarters was -1.5% compared to -5.1%, on average, over the last 10 quarters.

The interest coverage ratio for the quarter ended March 31, 2005 was 2.7x and the fixed-charge coverage ratio for this period was 1.6x. These ratios have also fallen to some degree over the past several years and are weaker than many comparably rated Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Whereas improving conditions in the sector may help stem these declines, Fitch will view further deterioration negatively.

The company's equity investments in two public REITS, Hospitality Properties Trust (HPT) and Senior Housing Properties Trust (SNH), which comprise 4.4% of book capital, present greater market value volatility risk than HRP's traditional real estate assets. HRP, HPT and SNH are all externally managed by RMR (REIT Management & Research). Fitch also notes that the company's corporate governance is not as robust as many of its peers. One example of this is the relatively small Board of Directors, which is among the smallest in the REIT universe with only three independent members and five members in total.

HRPT Properties Trust is an externally managed REIT, headquartered in Newton, MA. As of March 31, 2005, the company had $5.2 billion of undepreciated book capital. HRP is an owner of office and industrial properties located in 30 states. As of March 31, 2005, the portfolio consisted of 375 properties aggregating approximately 44 million square feet.

Fitch's rating definitions are available on the agency's public web site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies, and relevant policies and procedures are also available from this site, at all times. This document will remain on the public site for seven days. The issuer did not participate in the ratings process other than through the medium of its public disclosure.