Riverside County CA: management fee percentage cap overcharge case study
A public-record CAM case study showing $4,400 in management fee overcharges: landlord billed 11.1% effective rate against a 5% contractual cap.
What happened
Riverside County leased office space at the Galleria at Tyler under a NNN lease capping management fees at 5% of operating expenses. The landlord billed $8,000 in management fees on a $72,000 base, an effective rate of over 11%. The correct fee was $3,600. The $4,400 excess is a straightforward percentage cap violation identified through a California Public Records Act request.
Findings from the pipeline
Rule 3: Management Fee Overcharge
high confidence
$4,400
Management fee of $8,000.00 exceeds the lease cap of 5.00% applied to base $72,000.00. Correct fee: $3,600.00. Overcharge: $4,400.00.
Lease evidence
Management Fee shall not exceed five percent (5%) of Operating Expenses. Section 7.3.
Section 7.3, page 12
Math proof
billed=8000.00, cap_rate=0.05, base=72000.00, max_allowed=3600.00, overcharge=4400.00
Lease evidence
- Pro-rata share fixed at 12.00% (21,600 SF / 180,000 SF).
- Management fee capped at 5% of Operating Expenses per Section 7.3.
- NNN lease structure: tenant pays pro-rata share of all operating expenses.
Why this matters
Management fee caps are one of the most common sources of CAM overcharges. Landlords often bill a flat dollar fee that looks reasonable in isolation but exceeds the percentage cap when checked against the actual operating expense base. Government tenants are particularly exposed because their lease files are public record, making cross-verification straightforward.
Dispute letter draft excerpt
Request for Cooperative Review of Certain Line Items. The automated review flagged an apparent discrepancy of $4,400.00 for the 2022 reconciliation year tied to a management fee exceeding the contractual 5% cap.
Related Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Check your own CAM statement against the lease
Upload your lease and reconciliation. CAMAudit applies the same rule set used in this public-record case study. Most audits complete in under 15 minutes.
Public-record note
This page summarizes public-record documents and CAMAudit output for educational and marketing purposes. It does not imply endorsement by CVS, Target, or any third party. Readers should review the underlying lease, statement, and dispute timeline for their own facts.
Need to extract lease terms before your audit?
A CAM audit is only as accurate as your lease data. lextract.io extracts 126 structured fields from any commercial lease PDF: CAM definitions, pro-rata share, caps, base year, and audit rights. So you have the exact terms your landlord is supposed to follow.
Go to lextract.io