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Common CAM Overcharges (and the Lease Clauses That Limit Them)

Most CAM overcharges aren't fraud — they're the predictable result of busy property managers, vague leases, and templates that don't match your specific deal. These are the patterns that come up most often, and where in the lease the limit usually lives.

1. Management / administrative fees above the cap

An administrative or management fee is normal, but leases usually cap it — often a set percentage of CAM or of gross revenues. Bills frequently exceed that cap, or apply the percentage to a larger base than the lease allows.

Look for: the "Management Fee" or "Administrative Fee" clause and any percentage limit.

2. Capital expenses billed in full

Big-ticket items — a new roof, resurfaced parking lot, HVAC replacement — are often either excluded entirely or required to be amortized over their useful life. Billing the whole cost in one year can massively inflate a single reconciliation.

Look for: "Capital Expenditures" treatment and any amortization requirement.

3. Charges the lease specifically excludes

Common exclusions include leasing commissions, marketing and promotional costs, landlord's financing or interest, costs reimbursed by insurance or other tenants, legal fees for lease negotiations, and expenses tied to vacant space. These still show up on reconciliations.

Look for: the "Exclusions from Operating Expenses / CAM" list.

4. Gross-up errors

When a building isn't fully occupied, leases often allow the landlord to "gross up" variable expenses to what they'd be at full occupancy — but only for variable costs, and only to a stated occupancy (e.g., 95%). Grossing up fixed costs, or above the stated percentage, overcharges the tenant.

Look for: the "Gross-Up" provision and its occupancy percentage.

5. Base-year problems (office leases)

In base-year leases you only pay increases over a baseline year. If the base year is understated — or costs that weren't in the base year get added later — your "increase" is overstated every year after.

Look for: the "Base Year" definition and what it includes.

6. Pro-rata share miscalculations

Your share is usually your square footage ÷ the property's total leasable square footage. If the denominator is understated (or your square footage overstated), every line on the reconciliation is inflated proportionally.

Look for: your stated square footage and the building/center total; recompute the percentage.

7. Controllable-expense cap overages

Many leases cap how much controllable CAM can rise year over year (commonly 3–5%). Landlords sometimes apply the cap to the wrong categories, reset it incorrectly, or skip it entirely.

Look for: the "Cap on Controllable Expenses" clause and which categories it covers.

Find these in your own reconciliation

CAMcheck checks your reconciliation for every pattern above — automatically, against your specific lease — and shows the dollar impact of each finding with the clause that limits it, plus a dispute letter ready to send.

Run a free CAM check →