Commercial CAM Audit for Tenants
A CAM audit is a review of your common area maintenance charges to verify that your landlord is billing you accurately under the terms of your lease. Commercial tenants use CAM audits to catch overcharges, confirm that excluded expenses aren't being passed through, and ensure their reconciliation statements are calculated correctly.
Most tenants overpay because reconciliation statements are dense, technical documents — and manually comparing them against a complex lease agreement takes hours. LeaseGuard automates that comparison in about 60 seconds.
Common CAM Overcharges Tenants Miss
CAM billing errors are rarely intentional — but they are surprisingly common. These are the issues that a thorough CAM audit is designed to catch.
Inflated Management Fees
Property management fees are calculated as a percentage of total operating expenses. If other charges are inflated, the management fee compounds the overcharge. Some landlords also add separate administrative fees for functions the management fee should already cover.
Capital Expenses Billed as Operating Costs
Replacing a roof or repaving a parking lot is a capital improvement — not a routine operating expense. When these costs are classified as repairs, tenants pay the full amount in a single year instead of an amortized share over the asset's useful life.
Incorrect Proportionate Share
Your pro rata share is based on your square footage relative to the total leasable area. Even a small error in either number affects every expense category on your reconciliation statement, potentially costing thousands over a lease term.
Maintenance vs. Capital Confusion
The line between a repair (passable operating expense) and a replacement (capital improvement) is often subjective. Vague lease language makes it easier for property managers to classify major projects as routine maintenance.
Vague Lease Language Exploited
Broad definitions like "all costs associated with the operation of the property" give landlords wide discretion over what they pass through. Without clear exclusion lists, tenants may be charged for marketing, legal fees, or other costs that should be the landlord's responsibility. Review our guide on common CAM overcharges for more examples.
How LeaseGuard Runs a CAM Audit
LeaseGuard replaces the manual, hours-long process of cross-referencing your lease against your reconciliation statement with an automated analysis that delivers results in about 60 seconds.
Upload Your Documents
Upload your executed lease agreement and your annual CAM reconciliation statement. LeaseGuard accepts PDF, scanned documents, and image files.
AI Compares Charges to Lease Terms
The platform reads both documents and cross-references each reconciliation line item against your lease's expense definitions, exclusions, caps, and proportionate share provisions.
Identify Potential Discrepancies
You receive a clear report highlighting potential overcharges, excluded expenses being passed through, CAM cap violations, and proportionate share errors — with references to the relevant lease provisions.
Who Uses CAM Audits
CAM audits benefit any commercial tenant paying operating expense pass-throughs. The tenants who benefit most are those who lack the time or specialized expertise to review reconciliation statements manually.
Retail Tenants
Shopping center and strip mall tenants who pay CAM on shared parking, landscaping, and common areas.
Medical Practices
Physicians and dental offices in medical office buildings with complex operating expense structures.
Franchise Operators
Multi-location franchise owners managing CAM charges across several leases simultaneously.
Office Tenants
Businesses in multi-tenant office buildings paying proportionate shares of building operating costs.
Small Business Owners
Independent businesses leasing commercial space who need to protect their margins from billing errors.
Restaurant Operators
Food service businesses in retail centers where CAM charges can represent a significant operating cost.
Run a LeaseGuard CAM Audit
Upload your lease agreement and CAM reconciliation statement to quickly identify potential billing discrepancies, excluded cost pass-throughs, and CAM cap violations. Results are delivered in about 60 seconds.
Run 60-Second Audit