CAM charges, explained.

By Chase Farache, Broker Associate, Silver Lining Realty Group. Updated October 2026.

What CAM covers

CAM is the tenant's share of the cost of running the parts of a property no single tenant controls. The lease defines it, so the list differs from building to building, but these items are common:

• Landscaping, irrigation, parking lot sweeping, striping and lighting
• Repairs and maintenance of shared systems and common areas (lobbies, corridors, restrooms in multi-tenant office and medical buildings)
• Security, trash removal and pest control for common areas
• Property management fees, often stated as a percentage of revenue or of operating costs
• Common area utilities

Many leases bundle real estate taxes and property insurance into the same operating expense pool. Others bill them separately. On a NNN lease the tenant typically pays all three; on a gross lease, only increases over a base year. The lease structure guide covers that split.

How your share is calculated

Your share is normally your rentable area divided by the building's (or project's) rentable area. Two things change that fraction:

• Measurement. BOMA publishes the floor measurement standards most landlords cite: ANSI/BOMA Z65.1-2024 for office buildings and ANSI/BOMA Z65.2-2025 for industrial buildings. BOMA describes the office standard's purpose as calculating rentable area, and says the industrial standard generates load factors for shared space types. Ask which standard and edition your landlord used, for your suite and for the building.
• Denominator. If the landlord divides by leased area rather than total rentable area, tenants pay for vacant space. Ask for total rentable area as the denominator, with any gross-up limited to costs that actually vary with occupancy.

Hypothetical example (illustrative numbers only, not market data): a tenant leases 2,000 square feet in a 20,000 square foot flex building, so its share is 10%. The landlord's CAM budget is $100,000 for the year, so the tenant pays estimates of $10,000, or about $833 a month. If actual costs come in at $108,000, the reconciliation bills the tenant another $800. If the lease capped controllable CAM increases at 5% and the overage came from controllable items, the tenant's exposure would be limited accordingly.

Taxes and insurance inside the pool

Florida's property tax calendar drives the timing of most reconciliations:

• Property is assessed as of January 1 (s. 192.042, F.S.).
• Taxes are due November 1 and delinquent April 1 of the following year (s. 197.333, F.S.).
• A landlord who pays in November gets a 4% discount; 3% in December, 2% in January, 1% in February (s. 197.162, F.S.).

Ask whether the tax pass-through reflects the discounted amount the landlord actually paid. In Palm Beach County, the Property Appraiser lists mid-August as the month the Notice of Proposed Taxes and Assessments is mailed, which is your early warning for next year's tax line. Ask the landlord for a copy each year.

Insurance is the other volatile line. Read whether the pool includes only property insurance or also the landlord's liability coverage and deductibles. A large hurricane deductible passed through as CAM can be a significant one-time charge. Negotiate a limit on deductible pass-throughs, or at least amortization over several years.

What to exclude and cap

The exclusions list is where most of the money is. Items tenants commonly ask to exclude:

1. Capital replacements (roof, parking lot, HVAC replacement), or if included, amortized over useful life rather than billed in one year
2. Costs to cure code violations that existed before your lease, including accessibility work. The ADA Title III Technical Assistance Manual says landlord and tenant are both fully responsible for compliance and a lease allocation "is only effective as between the parties," so spell out who pays.
3. Leasing commissions, tenant improvements for other tenants, and marketing
4. Landlord's debt service, ground rent, and entity costs
5. Costs reimbursed by insurance, warranties or other tenants
6. Management fees above a stated percentage

Then ask for a cap on controllable expenses (everything except taxes, insurance and utilities, typically), and settle whether the cap is cumulative or non-cumulative and whether it compounds.

Reconciliation, audit rights and sales tax

Your lease should require the landlord to deliver an annual reconciliation within a set time after year end, with enough detail to check it. Negotiate an audit right: a defined window after you receive the reconciliation to review the books, with the landlord paying for the audit if it finds an overcharge above a stated threshold.

Sales tax on CAM followed the rent. For rental periods beginning on or after October 1, 2025, Florida's sales tax and county surtax on commercial rent are repealed, per DOR TIP 25A01-04. Pass-throughs tied to earlier periods can still be taxable, so a 2025 calendar-year reconciliation may be partly taxable. Details are in Florida sales tax on commercial rent.

Checklist before you sign

• Get the last two years of actual operating expenses, not only this year's budget.
• Confirm the measurement standard, your rentable area and the building's.
• Read the exclusions and add the ones above that are missing.
• Cap controllable expenses and limit management fees.
• Fix the reconciliation deadline and your audit right.
• Ask how the hurricane deductible is handled.

I review operating expense history as part of every tenant search. If you have a proposal in hand, call or text (561) 715-7222 and I'll go through the CAM language with you. Browse space for lease or start with flex and medical office.

Not legal or tax advice. Laws, codes and local rules change; confirm current requirements with your attorney, CPA, architect or the permitting office before you act.