CAM audit FAQ: 50+ answers for commercial tenants
CAM charges generate more tenant questions than almost any other part of a commercial lease. The billing is opaque by design: a one-page reconciliation summary covers what may be hundreds of underlying invoices, calculations, and allocation decisions. When tenants finally ask questions, they often find the questions multiply.
This page collects every substantive question commercial tenants ask about CAM audits, reconciliations, and disputes. Answers are organized by topic so you can jump directly to what you need.
40% of commercial CAM reconciliations contain material billing errors (Tango Analytics, 2023)
Section 1: Basics
What is a CAM audit?
A CAM audit is a formal review of a landlord's common area maintenance charges against the terms of the tenant's lease. The goal is to verify that every line item in the CAM pool is allowable under the lease, correctly calculated, and properly allocated to the tenant based on the correct pro-rata share. A CAM audit may also cover property tax and insurance pass-throughs, depending on the lease structure and scope of the review.
What is included in CAM charges?
CAM typically covers the costs of operating and maintaining the building's common areas. Standard line items include janitorial services for lobbies and common corridors, landscaping and exterior grounds maintenance, parking lot maintenance and snow removal, exterior lighting, common area utilities (electricity, water, gas for shared spaces), security services, routine HVAC and building system repairs for shared systems, and the property management fee. The exact scope depends on your lease's CAM definition. Some leases include insurance and property taxes in the same pool; others bill them separately.
What is a CAM reconciliation statement?
A CAM reconciliation statement is the annual document the landlord sends that compares the estimated CAM payments you made throughout the year to the actual operating costs incurred. If estimates exceeded actuals, you receive a credit. If actuals exceeded estimates, you owe additional rent. The statement typically lists expense categories with annual totals, your pro-rata share percentage, your proportionate share of total costs, and the resulting balance due or credit. What it rarely shows is the underlying calculation detail. That is what an audit requests.
What is the difference between a lease audit and a CAM audit?
A lease audit is a broader term that can include verification of base rent escalations, percentage rent calculations, operating expense pass-throughs, and any other variable payment obligation under the lease. A CAM audit is specifically focused on common area maintenance charges and related pass-throughs (taxes, insurance). Most commercial tenants use the terms interchangeably because CAM charges represent the largest and most contested category of lease billing disputes.
Do I have the right to audit my landlord's CAM charges?
Whether you have a formal contractual right depends on your lease. Most commercial leases include an audit rights clause giving tenants the right to inspect the landlord's books and records supporting the reconciliation. If your lease lacks an explicit audit rights clause, you may still have some access rights under general contract principles or, in California, under Civil Code Section 1950.9 for qualifying leases. A commercial real estate attorney can advise on your specific situation. As a practical matter, landlords typically cooperate with reasonable audit requests even when the clause is weak, because refusing creates a credibility problem in any subsequent dispute.
How far back can I audit CAM charges?
The lookback period depends on your lease's audit rights clause, which typically specifies a window of 1 to 4 years. The most common language allows audits for the prior 2 to 3 reconciliation years. Some leases allow the full statute of limitations period (4 to 6 years depending on the state) if no audit rights clause limiting the period exists. After the lookback window closes, overcharges from earlier periods are typically unrecoverable regardless of their size. This is why auditing promptly matters.
What is an audit rights clause?
An audit rights clause is a lease provision that gives tenants the contractual right to inspect the landlord's financial records supporting a CAM reconciliation. A strong clause specifies which records must be produced (general ledger, invoices, management fee calculations, gross-up worksheets), the time period the landlord has to respond (typically 30 to 60 days), who can conduct the audit (tenant staff, CPA, or lease auditor), and what happens when overcharges are found (credit, refund, and cost-shifting if overcharges exceed a defined threshold). Without a well-drafted audit rights clause, exercising your audit right is difficult in practice even if it exists in theory. A CAM audit engagement letter template formalizes the request process when working with an outside auditor, ensuring the scope, timeline, and document access terms are in writing before the engagement begins.
Section 2: Common errors
What are the most common CAM overcharge errors?
The six errors CAMAudit flags most frequently are: management fee calculated at a rate higher than the lease allows; management fee calculated on a base that already includes the management fee (fee-on-fee); pro-rata share denominator that incorrectly excludes certain tenant spaces or uses a stale occupancy figure; gross-up applied to fixed expenses like insurance and property taxes that do not vary with occupancy; CAM increases that exceed the cap percentage in the lease; and capital expenditures (roof replacement, parking lot repaving, HVAC replacement) included in the CAM pool as maintenance expenses.
What is a management fee overcharge?
A management fee overcharge occurs when the landlord bills a property management fee at a rate above what the lease authorizes, or when the fee is calculated on a base that should not include it. Market rates for property management fees run 4% to 6% of controllable operating expenses. If your lease says 4% and the landlord bills 6%, the difference is an overcharge. If the landlord calculates the fee as 5% of total CAM (including the management fee itself), that creates a compounding overcharge called fee-on-fee. On a $500,000 annual CAM pool, a fee-on-fee error at 5% produces roughly $1,250 in excess charges per year.
What is a pro-rata share error in a commercial lease?
A pro-rata share error occurs when your allocated percentage of the CAM pool does not match the formula defined in your lease. Your pro-rata share is typically calculated as your leased square footage divided by the total leasable area of the property or building. Errors arise when the denominator (total leasable area) changes without explanation, when certain tenant spaces are improperly excluded from the denominator, or when the landlord uses a different floor measurement standard than the one defined in the lease. A denominator that is 5% too small increases every tenant's pro-rata share by a proportionate amount.
What is a gross-up violation?
Gross-up is a provision that lets the landlord normalize variable operating expenses to a hypothetical full-occupancy level. The rationale is that a 70% occupied building incurs lower variable costs than a 95% occupied building, and the landlord should not absorb those lower costs when occupancy recovers. A gross-up violation occurs when the landlord applies the gross-up factor to fixed expenses (property taxes, insurance) that do not vary with occupancy, uses a normalization percentage above what the lease authorizes, or applies gross-up when the lease does not contain a gross-up provision. Gross-up errors are subtle and frequently overlooked in manual reviews.
Can landlords charge capital improvements as CAM?
No, not directly. Capital expenditures like roof replacement, parking lot repaving, and complete HVAC system replacement are capital costs that must be depreciated over their useful lives under IRS rules. However, some leases include an amortization clause that allows the landlord to amortize capital improvements over their useful life and pass the annual amortization charge through as CAM. If your lease has this clause, the allowable amount is only the annual amortization, not the full cost, and it only applies to qualifying capital items (typically those that reduce operating expenses or are required by law). Without an amortization clause, capital expenditures are categorically excluded from CAM.
What is a CAM cap violation?
A CAM cap limits the annual increase in your controllable CAM charges. The cap is typically expressed as a percentage (3% to 5% per year is common). If CAM increases 12% in a year and your lease has a 5% controllable expense cap, the landlord should bill you only for a 5% increase. Billing you for the full 12% is a CAM cap violation. The exact calculation depends on whether the cap is cumulative (resets each year) or compounded (carries forward unused capacity from prior years). Most landlord-drafted leases use cumulative caps; compounded caps provide more protection to tenants over time.
What is a base year error?
A base year error occurs when the landlord uses an incorrect value for the base year operating expenses in a modified gross lease or base-year NNN lease. These leases require tenants to pay only the increase in operating expenses above the base year level. If the landlord artificially deflates the base year figure (by excluding certain expenses from the base year that are included in subsequent years, or by not grossing up the base year to a normalized occupancy level), the tenant pays a larger escalation than the lease intends. Base year errors compound over time because every subsequent year's escalation calculates off the incorrect starting point.
Section 3: Cost and options
How much does a CAM audit cost?
The cost depends on the provider. CAMAudit software costs $79 for one audit, $179 for three, or $249 for five. CPAs and flat-fee lease auditors charge $150 to $350 per hour or project rates of $1,500 to $5,000 per audit. Contingency audit firms charge 25% to 40% of recovered amounts, with no upfront fee. BPO firms like Springbord charge $50 to $200 per hour for managed services, with large portfolio engagements reaching $20,000 to $80,000 per reconciliation cycle. The traditional audit firm model ($2,000 to $5,000 upfront plus 25% to 33% contingency) is the highest total cost for most single-location tenants.
What is a contingency fee lease audit?
A contingency fee lease audit is an engagement where the audit firm charges no upfront fee and instead earns a percentage of the overcharges it recovers for you. The standard contingency split is 25% to 40%. If the audit finds $40,000 in overcharges and you recover all of it, you pay the firm $10,000 to $16,000. If the audit finds nothing recoverable, you owe nothing (though some firms charge a small retainer or travel fee regardless). Contingency arrangements work best when the suspected overcharge is large enough to justify the fee split and the situation calls for formal dispute expertise.
Should I hire a contingency firm or use software?
Use software first. At $79, CAMAudit tells you in fifteen minutes whether overcharges exist, what they are, and how much they total. If the findings are minor (under $5,000), you can dispute them directly using the generated dispute letter draft and keep 100% of the recovery. If the findings are large (over $20,000) and your landlord is adversarial, you now have a documented finding that gives any subsequent contingency firm engagement a defined starting point. Going to a firm without knowing what errors exist means paying 25% to 40% of a recovery for work you could have done yourself in fifteen minutes.
Can I audit CAM charges myself?
Yes, but it requires specific knowledge. You need to understand how to identify a pro-rata share denominator definition, verify management fee calculations, check gross-up provisions, analyze CAM cap formulas, and distinguish capital expenditures from maintenance expenses. Getting any of these wrong means missing real overcharges. Most tenants who attempt manual reviews catch only the obvious items and miss the structural errors that cost the most money. CAMAudit automates the detection logic, so you get the output of an expert-level review without needing to build the expertise yourself.
Is CAMAudit worth it for a single-location tenant?
Yes. The economic math is simple. If your annual CAM charge is $30,000 and the industry error rate is 40%, there is a meaningful probability your bill has errors. A 10% overcharge on a $30,000 CAM bill is $3,000 per year, or $21,000 over a 7-year lease. At $79 for the audit, the break-even point is an overcharge of $79 total across the full lease term. You only need to recover $79 worth of overcharges for the audit to pay for itself. Most findings are significantly larger. If you want a quick read on your specific situation before committing, the free assessment tool takes 2 minutes. For the broader industry context, see CAM audit industry market size data, which puts the scale of the overcharge problem in perspective. Tenants who prefer working with a professional firm can compare options through the lease audit services overview.
What is the ROI of a CAM audit?
ROI depends on what you find. CAMAudit's flat-fee model makes the calculation straightforward: subtract $79 from whatever you recover. If the audit finds a $4,500 management fee overcharge that the landlord corrects, your net recovery is $4,301, a 21x return on the audit cost. The ROI calculation gets more complex with contingency firms, because you share the recovery. A $30,000 finding through a contingency firm at 33% nets you $20,100 after the fee. The same finding identified by CAMAudit first, then disputed directly, nets you $29,801. For most single-location tenants, software ROI significantly exceeds contingency firm ROI.
Section 4: The audit process
How does a CAM audit work?
A CAM audit compares the landlord's actual billings against the terms of the lease. The process has four steps: (1) gather the relevant documents (lease and all amendments, reconciliation statement, and supporting documentation); (2) extract the relevant lease provisions (CAM pool definition, management fee cap, pro-rata share formula, gross-up provision, CAM cap structure, base year, and exclusions); (3) apply detection rules to identify discrepancies between what the lease allows and what was billed; and (4) document findings with specific dollar amounts and the lease provision each error violates. CAMAudit completes steps 1 through 4 automatically in under fifteen minutes.
What documents do I need for a CAM audit?
At minimum, you need your lease (including all amendments and exhibits), and the landlord's reconciliation statement for the year(s) being audited. A complete audit may also require: the general ledger for the CAM pool (line-item expense detail behind the reconciliation summary), vendor invoices for major expense categories (especially maintenance and capital items), the management fee calculation worksheet, the gross-up calculation and occupancy factor used, and prior-year reconciliation statements if you are auditing multiple years. CAMAudit works from the lease and reconciliation statement. Requesting backup documentation becomes appropriate if the initial audit flags specific discrepancies worth investigating further.
How long does a CAM audit take?
CAMAudit software: under fifteen minutes from upload to findings. CPA or flat-fee auditor: 1 to 3 weeks. BPO firm: 2 to 6 weeks. Contingency firm: 3 to 9 months from engagement to final resolution. The software timeline reflects automated processing. The firm timelines reflect document gathering, analysis, landlord response, and dispute resolution.
What is CAMAudit and how does it work?
CAMAudit is software that automates CAM reconciliation auditing for commercial tenants. You upload your lease and reconciliation statement as PDFs. AWS Textract converts the documents to structured text. Claude Sonnet 4.6 extracts the specific lease provisions each detection rule needs: management fee cap, pro-rata denominator, gross-up threshold, CAM cap structure, base year figures, and excluded expense categories. Then 14 deterministic detection rules run against the extracted provisions and the reconciliation data. Math rules produce exact dollar overcharge calculations. Classification rules identify excluded or misclassified expenses. The output is a finding report with each overcharge tied to the specific lease provision it violates, and an option to generate a dispute letter draft. For a step-by-step walkthrough of the full pipeline, see how it works.
Can I audit multiple years at once?
Yes. Most leases allow auditing multiple reconciliation years within the lookback window simultaneously. If your lease has a 3-year lookback and you have never audited, you may be able to audit the most recent three reconciliation years in a single engagement. This is advantageous when errors are systemic (a management fee calculated incorrectly every year, for example) because the total recovery spans all affected years. CAMAudit processes one reconciliation statement per audit run. For multi-year audits, upload each year's reconciliation as a separate audit.
What happens if my lease doesn't have an audit rights clause?
You may still have practical options. Most landlords cooperate with reasonable information requests even without a formal audit rights clause, especially for tenants with long lease terms. Under general contract principles, you have rights to enforce the written terms of the agreement, which includes verifying that the landlord's calculations match what the lease says. In California, Civil Code Section 1950.9 (effective 2025) creates statutory audit rights for qualifying commercial leases. In other states, consult a commercial real estate attorney. The absence of an audit rights clause makes the process harder but rarely makes it impossible.
Section 5: Disputes
How do I dispute CAM charges?
Start with a written dispute notice that specifies the error, the dollar amount, and the lease provision the landlord violated. General objections ("I think my CAM is too high") are easy for landlords to deflect. Specific objections ("The management fee was billed at 6.2% but the lease caps it at 5%, resulting in an overcharge of $3,840") are harder to ignore. Send the dispute in writing before your lease's dispute deadline. CAMAudit generates dispute letter drafts that cite the specific lease provision and calculation for each finding.
What should a CAM dispute letter include?
A well-drafted dispute letter includes: the reconciliation year being disputed, the specific error or errors (each as a separate item), the exact dollar amount of each overcharge with the underlying calculation, the lease provision (section and page number) that limits or excludes the billed amount, a request for credit or refund within a stated time period, and a reservation of rights to pursue additional remedies if the landlord does not respond. The letter should be professional and factual. Confrontational language rarely speeds resolution and can create relationship friction that makes subsequent negotiations harder.
What is a dispute window in a commercial lease?
A dispute window is the time period after receiving a CAM reconciliation statement during which you can formally object to the charges. Common windows are 60, 90, or 180 days from delivery of the reconciliation. After the window closes, most leases treat the reconciliation as final and binding, even if it contains errors. Missing the dispute window is one of the most common and most expensive mistakes commercial tenants make. If you are approaching your deadline and do not yet have findings, run a CAMAudit audit immediately.
How do I write a CAM dispute letter draft?
The most reliable approach is to run CAMAudit first so your letter references specific findings with exact calculations rather than general concerns. CAMAudit generates a dispute letter draft from your findings automatically. If you are drafting manually, structure the letter with one section per finding: the finding name, the lease provision at issue, the landlord's billed amount, the amount that should have been billed, the resulting overcharge, and your request for correction. Sign it yourself or have your attorney sign it. Send via certified mail or email with read receipt so you have proof of delivery.
Can I withhold rent for disputed CAM charges?
Generally no, and doing so creates significant legal risk. Most commercial leases explicitly prohibit rent withholding as a self-help remedy, and withholding rent exposes you to default claims, late fees, and potentially lease termination. The correct approach is to pay the disputed amount under protest, send a formal written dispute, and pursue correction through the lease's dispute resolution mechanism. Some leases allow tenants to pay disputed CAM amounts into an escrow or trust account while the dispute is pending. Check your lease before taking any action that affects your payment obligations.
What happens if the landlord refuses to correct the overcharge?
Escalate through the lease's dispute resolution mechanism. Most commercial leases require mediation before arbitration or litigation. A documented dispute with specific lease citations is a strong starting position. If the overcharge is large and your landlord is stonewalling, consult a commercial real estate attorney. In some cases, a formal demand from counsel is enough to move the landlord. If the dispute goes to mediation or arbitration, having a CAMAudit finding with exact calculations and lease citations as documentary evidence puts you in a materially stronger position.
How long does a CAM dispute take to resolve?
Straightforward disputes with cooperative landlords resolve in 30 to 90 days. A landlord who acknowledges an obvious error and issues a credit may do so within 2 to 4 weeks of receiving a well-documented dispute letter. Disputes where the landlord contests the finding take longer: 3 to 6 months if mediation is required, 12 to 24 months if the dispute proceeds to arbitration or litigation. Most commercial CAM disputes resolve before litigation because the math is usually clear and both parties prefer to preserve the landlord-tenant relationship.
Section 6: Timing
When should I audit my CAM charges?
Audit every year. Most commercial leases have a 2 to 4 year lookback limit on audit rights. Waiting three years means you may lose the ability to recover a first-year error. If you have never audited before, audit the most recent reconciliation year first, then work back through the available lookback window. The best time to audit is immediately after receiving the reconciliation statement, while the dispute window is wide open and you have maximum time to request documentation and negotiate. Understanding how long a CAM audit refund typically takes helps set realistic expectations before you begin the dispute process. Tenants at lease expiration should understand whether a lease exit audit is warranted to close out all open reconciliation periods before vacating.
When do landlords send CAM reconciliation statements?
Most landlords send annual CAM reconciliations in Q1 of the following year: January, February, and March are when the majority of reconciliation statements are distributed. This gives landlords time to close their books and compile actual cost data for the prior calendar year. Some leases specify a deadline (often 90 to 120 days after fiscal year-end). If you have not received your reconciliation by April and your lease year is calendar year, follow up in writing.
What is CAM audit season?
CAM audit season refers to the January through June period when the vast majority of commercial lease auditing activity occurs. It is driven by the Q1 distribution of reconciliation statements. Contingency audit firms, CPAs, and lease auditors see 80% to 90% of their annual volume in this window. Landlords who receive large volumes of audit requests simultaneously may respond more slowly during peak season. If you plan to use a professional firm, engaging them in Q4 before reconciliations arrive ensures capacity.
Is it too late to audit if my lease is about to expire?
Not necessarily. If your lease has a 3-year lookback and you have 6 months remaining, you can still audit the prior 3 reconciliation years. Any overcharges you recover belong to you regardless of when the lease ends. The practical challenge is that landlords may be less motivated to cooperate on a lease that is expiring, particularly if they know you will not be renewing. Having a documented, specific dispute in writing is more important in this situation, not less. Do not leave money on the table simply because the lease is ending.
Section 7: Legal questions
What are my rights as a commercial tenant regarding CAM?
Your rights are primarily defined by your lease. Commercial tenants have fewer statutory protections than residential tenants, and the lease terms govern most disputes. Key contractual rights include the right to pay only the amounts the lease authorizes, the right to audit if your lease includes an audit rights clause, and the right to dispute charges through the lease's dispute resolution mechanism. In California, Civil Code Section 1950.9 creates additional statutory rights for qualifying commercial tenants including the right to supporting documentation within 30 days of request.
Does my state have specific CAM laws?
Most states do not have comprehensive CAM-specific statutes for commercial tenants. California's Civil Code Section 1950.9, effective January 1, 2025, is the most significant recent example of state intervention in commercial CAM billing. It applies to commercial leases with monthly base rent under $3,250 (inflation-adjusted) and requires landlords to provide an itemized CAM statement and supporting documentation within 30 days of tenant request. For leases outside California or above that rent threshold, the lease terms and general contract law govern. A commercial real estate attorney in your state can advise on applicable protections.
Can my landlord retaliate if I dispute CAM charges?
Formal legal retaliation by a landlord for invoking contractual audit rights is rare, because it creates substantial legal exposure and the audit right is a contractual entitlement. Practical friction is more common: slower responses, less cooperative attitude during lease renewal negotiations, or subtle changes in service levels. Document all communications during and after a dispute. If you experience actions that appear retaliatory (lease termination threats, abrupt changes in service without cause, refusal to cooperate on unrelated matters), consult a commercial real estate attorney promptly.
Should I hire an attorney for a CAM dispute?
For straightforward disputes under $10,000, attorney involvement is usually not cost-effective given commercial litigation rates of $300 to $600 per hour. A well-documented dispute letter based on CAMAudit findings resolves most routine overcharges without legal counsel. For disputes over $25,000, for disputes where the landlord is unresponsive or hostile, or when mediation and arbitration proceedings are required, attorney involvement is worthwhile. The value of an attorney in a CAM dispute is less about legal complexity and more about escalation credibility: a formal dispute notice from counsel carries more weight than a tenant's own letter in many landlord relationships.
Section 8: Lease negotiation
What CAM protections should I negotiate before signing?
The five protections that matter most are: (1) a defined and exclusive CAM pool with an explicit exclusions list; (2) an annual CAM cap on controllable expenses (3% to 5% per year); (3) a strong audit rights clause with specific records, timelines, and cost-shifting if overcharges exceed a threshold; (4) a base year that is normalized to 95% occupancy or higher so the landlord cannot manipulate the baseline; and (5) a dispute window of at least 180 days after delivery of the reconciliation. These provisions limit exposure on the front end and protect your ability to recover overcharges on the back end.
What is a good CAM cap percentage?
A CAM cap of 3% to 5% per year on controllable expenses is standard in well-negotiated retail and office leases. Controllable expenses are those the landlord can influence: management fees, maintenance contracts, janitorial, landscaping. Uncontrollable expenses (property taxes, insurance) are typically excluded from the cap. A 3% cap tracks inflation in most years. A 5% cap gives the landlord more flexibility while still limiting your exposure. Anything above 5% annually is aggressive. Anything above 8% is essentially no cap in most inflation environments.
What should be excluded from CAM charges?
Standard exclusions to negotiate include: capital expenditures and replacements (or limit to amortized amounts for qualifying items), mortgage interest and debt service, depreciation, leasing commissions and tenant improvements, above-building management overhead and executive salaries, litigation costs not related to common area operations, costs of above-standard services to specific tenants, income taxes and franchise taxes, and costs to remedy pre-existing conditions. The more specific your exclusions list, the harder it is for the landlord to include borderline items. Vague exclusions ("capital improvements") are harder to enforce than specific ones ("costs to replace the roof, parking lot, or HVAC systems, unless amortized over useful life of not less than 15 years").
How do I negotiate audit rights?
Ask for: the right to audit by a CPA or qualified lease auditor (not just in-house staff), specific records to be produced within 30 to 60 days of written request (general ledger, invoices, management fee worksheet, gross-up calculation), a cost-shifting provision if overcharges exceed 3% to 5% of total CAM (the landlord pays audit costs), and a dispute window of at least 90 days after receiving requested documentation. Landlords commonly push back on contingency-fee auditors and on producing vendor invoices. The contingency restriction is negotiable; the invoice production right is important to preserve.
What is the difference between a cumulative and compounded CAM cap?
A cumulative CAM cap resets each year. If your cap is 5% and CAM increases only 2% in year one, you cannot "bank" the unused 3% for future years. Each year stands alone. A compounded CAM cap carries forward unused cap capacity from prior years. If CAM increased only 2% in year one (under a 5% cap), the unused 3% compounds into year two, allowing up to 8.15% before the cap is breached. Compounded caps provide substantially more long-term protection for tenants, especially in low-inflation periods followed by high-inflation years. Landlords strongly prefer cumulative caps. Push for compounded if you can get it.
For a step-by-step walkthrough of the audit process, see the commercial lease audit guide. For a deep dive on how CAMAudit's detection engine works, see the CAM audit methodology guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a CAM audit?
A CAM audit is a formal review of a landlord's common area maintenance charges against the terms of the tenant's lease. The goal is to verify that every line item in the CAM pool is allowable under the lease, correctly calculated, and properly allocated based on the correct pro-rata share. Industry research shows 40% of commercial CAM reconciliations contain material billing errors.
How much does a CAM audit cost?
CAMAudit software costs $79 for one audit, $179 for three, or $249 for five. CPAs and flat-fee auditors charge $1,500 to $5,000 per audit. Contingency firms charge 25% to 40% of recovered amounts with no upfront fee. BPO firms charge $50 to $200 per hour for ongoing portfolio services.
How do I dispute CAM charges?
Send a written dispute before your lease's dispute deadline that specifies each error, the dollar amount, and the lease provision violated. General objections are easy for landlords to deflect; specific calculations tied to lease language are much harder to ignore. CAMAudit generates dispute letter drafts that cite the specific lease provision and calculation for each finding.
How far back can I audit CAM charges?
The lookback period depends on your audit rights clause, typically 2 to 4 years. After the lookback window closes, overcharges from earlier periods are generally unrecoverable. Auditing annually is the most reliable way to preserve your full recovery rights.
What should be excluded from CAM charges?
Standard exclusions include capital expenditures (roof replacement, parking lot repaving, HVAC system replacement), mortgage debt service, depreciation, leasing commissions, tenant improvements for other tenants, above-building management overhead, executive salaries, and litigation costs unrelated to common area operations. If any of these appear in your reconciliation, that is an overcharge.
What is a CAM cap and how does it protect tenants?
A CAM cap limits the annual increase in controllable CAM charges to a defined percentage, typically 3% to 5%. If CAM increases 12% in a year and your lease has a 5% cap, the landlord can only bill you for 5%. Cumulative caps reset each year; compounded caps carry forward unused capacity from prior years and provide stronger long-term protection.