Florida DMS Tallahassee: base year stop ignored case study
A public-record office lease case study showing $59,500 in base year overcharges: landlord billed full current-year operating costs without applying the 2018 base year deduction.
What happened
Florida DMS's Tallahassee lease establishes a 2018 base year at $850,000 in operating expenses. The 2022 reconciliation billed $68,600, which equals exactly 7% of $980,000 in full current-year expenses, with no base-year deduction applied. The correct charge was ($980,000 − $850,000) × 7% = $9,100. The landlord's failure to apply the base-year stop created a $59,500 overcharge.
Findings from the pipeline
Rule 7: Base Year Error
high confidence
$59,500
Correct base-year-stop calculation: (current_opex - base $850,000.00) × 7.0000% = $9,100.00. Billed: $68,600.00. Overcharge: $59,500.00.
Lease evidence
Base Year shall mean calendar year 2018, in which total Operating Expenses were $850,000. Tenant's share equals its Pro-Rata Share of the amount by which Operating Expenses exceed the Base Year amount. Section 5.2.
Section 5.2, page 9
Math proof
raw_base=850000.00, effective_base=850000.00, current_opex=980000.00, increase=130000.00, recoverable=130000.00, pro_rata=0.07, correct_billed=9100.00, billed=68600.00, overcharge=59500.00
Rule 7: Base Year Error
low confidence
$0
Base year to current year variance of 15% exceeds the 15% expected inflation threshold. Base: $850,000.00, Current: $980,000.00.
Math proof
base=850000.00, current=980000.00, variance=0.1529, threshold=0.15
Lease evidence
- 2018 base year at $850,000 operating expenses (Section 5.2).
- Tenant pays 7% of increases above base only.
Why this matters
Base year stop provisions are the tenant's protection against runaway operating cost growth, but they only work if the landlord applies them correctly. When reconciliation software is configured incorrectly or reset after a system migration, base year deductions can silently disappear, leaving tenants paying for the full current-year pool as if no base year existed.
Dispute letter draft excerpt
Request for Cooperative Review of Certain Line Items. The automated review flagged a base year stop omission of $59,500.00 : billed amount of $68,600 does not reflect the 2018 base year deduction required by Section 5.2.
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