Modifications to common areas required for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, including ramp installation, accessible door hardware, signage, and restroom modifications.
Key Takeaways
| Lease Type | Recoverable? | Controllable? |
|---|---|---|
| NNN | No | No |
| Modified Gross | No | No |
| Full-Service Gross | No | No |
Approximate budget share: 0% of total CAM pool.
ADA compliance upgrades cover modifications to the built environment required to meet the accessibility standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act. These include ramp installation, accessible parking space construction, door hardware replacement, accessible restroom construction, tactile signage installation, and elevator modernization for accessibility. Under federal law, the building owner bears the obligation to ensure the property meets ADA requirements. Upgrades to achieve compliance are capital improvements that increase the property's value, extend its useful life, and address the landlord's pre-existing legal obligation. They are not operating expenses of the common areas. Most commercial leases exclude capital improvements from the CAM pool, and even leases that permit amortized capital recovery typically exclude costs incurred to cure a pre-existing code violation or legal non-compliance. Tenants should challenge any ADA-related charge in the CAM reconciliation. The only potentially recoverable ADA-related costs are minor routine maintenance items like restriping accessible parking spaces or replacing worn tactile strips, which are part of general common area upkeep rather than compliance upgrades.
Overcharge Risk
$2,000-$79,000/year
typical annual overcharge when this line item is disputed
Landlords pass through ADA compliance upgrades as CAM operating expenses when these are building improvements that increase the property's value and are the landlord's legal obligation.
| Legitimate Charge | Suspicious Charge |
|---|---|
| Restriping accessible parking spaces as part of routine lot maintenance | Ramp construction or accessible restroom installation billed through CAM |
| Replacing worn tactile warning strips at existing accessible features | Elevator modernization for ADA compliance passed through as an operating expense |
| Maintaining existing automatic door openers with routine servicing | "ADA compliance" or "barrier removal" appearing as a CAM line item |
ADA compliance is a building owner obligation. Upgrades to bring the property into compliance are capital improvements that increase property value and extend useful life. These costs should not be in the CAM pool. Challenge any ADA-related charge as a non-recoverable landlord obligation.
Check Your ADA Compliance Upgrades Charges
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