Research funders set rules that determine what costs are allowable. For U.S. federal funders, tuition up to a certain maximum amount is an allowable direct cost

Research funders set rules that determine what costs are allowable. For U.S. federal funders, tuition up to a certain maximum amount is an allowable direct cost. An arbitrary "lab space fee" is not allowable for space on a university campus. There is a facilities indirect cost that partially pays for the cost of facilities but the university cannot increase it whenever they want. They have to justify it based on their auditable actual costs, and you can rest assured most are already claiming the maximum that they can here.