Routine cleaning of common lobbies, restrooms, corridors, and shared spaces including trash collection and supply replenishment.
Key Takeaways
| Lease Type | Recoverable? | Controllable? |
|---|---|---|
| NNN | Yes | Yes |
| Modified Gross | Yes | Yes |
| Full-Service Gross | No | Yes |
Approximate budget share: 8-12% of total CAM pool.
Janitorial and cleaning services cover the routine upkeep of all interior common areas shared by tenants: building lobbies, hallways, restrooms, elevators, and any other spaces not exclusively leased. In a typical NNN or modified gross lease, cleaning costs are a recoverable CAM expense allocated pro-rata to all tenants based on their proportionate share of the building. The primary abuse pattern is the inclusion of vacant suite cleaning in the common area cost pool. When a suite is vacant, the landlord has a financial incentive to keep it clean and presentable for prospective tenants. That cost is a landlord business expense, not a shared building cost, and it should not be allocated to occupied tenants. Tenants should verify the square footage referenced in the cleaning contract matches only the documented common area SF, not total building SF. The second common abuse is above-market pricing from a vendor related to the landlord or from a vendor who has never been put out to competitive bid. Janitorial is classified as a controllable expense in most commercial leases, meaning increases are capped year-over-year. If the vendor rate has grown at 8% annually while the lease cap is 5%, the excess is disputable. Tenants should request the cleaning contract and any competitive bid documentation as part of a standard audit package.
Overcharge Risk
$2,000-$14,000/year
typical annual overcharge when this line item is disputed
Landlords bill the cost of cleaning vacant suites to the CAM pool, charging all occupied tenants for empty space maintenance. Cleaning frequency is also overstated.
| Legitimate Charge | Suspicious Charge |
|---|---|
| Cleaning contract referencing only documented common area square footage | Cleaning invoice referencing total building SF including vacant and tenant-exclusive suites |
| Competitively bid janitorial contract renewed every 3 years with market-rate pricing | Same vendor for 10+ years at above-market rates with no bid documentation |
| Year-over-year cost increases within the controllable expense cap percentage | Janitorial costs increasing 12% annually when the lease cap is 5% |
| Cleaning scope limited to lobbies, corridors, restrooms, and shared mechanical rooms | Cleaning charges referencing vacant suites or tenant build-out areas |
Audit the cleaning contract against actual common area square footage. Demand proof that vacant suite cleaning is excluded from the CAM pool. Verify the per-square-foot cleaning rate is consistent with market rates obtained through competitive bidding.
Check Your Janitorial / Cleaning Services Charges
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