Can I audit my landlord's CAM charges?
The short answer
Many commercial leases include an audit rights clause that allows the tenant to inspect the landlord's records supporting the annual CAM reconciliation. The clause typically sets a notice window — commonly 30 to 90 days after the reconciliation statement is delivered — and the right to audit is often forfeited if notice is not given within that period. What you can actually review, who bears the cost, and what happens if an error is found all depend on your lease's specific audit rights language. This is a different question from what CAM is or how it is calculated; it is about the procedural mechanism for checking the landlord's math. Scan your lease to find the audit window and confirm the right exists before your deadline passes.
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What an audit rights clause usually does
An audit rights provision gives the tenant the right to request and review the landlord's underlying records — vendor invoices, contracts, and allocation schedules — supporting the CAM reconciliation. A commonly seen structure requires the tenant to give written notice within a set period after receiving the annual statement (often 30, 60, or 90 days), and to conduct the audit within a further window (often 90 to 180 days from that notice). The lease usually specifies where records must be made available, who pays for the audit, and in some cases requires the tenant to use a CPA.
If the audit reveals an overcharge, the lease's remedy provision controls — some require the landlord to credit the next period's CAM estimate, others require a refund within a set number of days. If the audit reveals a material overcharge (a threshold often defined in the lease, such as 5% or more of the reconciled amount), some leases shift audit costs to the landlord.
Why people worry
Tenants commonly report not knowing they have an audit right, or discovering it only after the notice window has closed. A missed audit window typically forfeits the right to challenge that year's reconciliation regardless of what it contained. The practical barrier is the cost and effort of conducting an audit — which tenants most often report as worthwhile when the annual CAM bill is large enough that a material overcharge would justify the work.
What to look for in your lease
- Whether an audit rights clause exists — some leases do not include one, and it may need to be negotiated.
- The notice window after receipt of the reconciliation statement and whether that window is absolute.
- Who bears the cost of the audit — tenant, landlord, or shifting on material findings.
- What records the landlord must make available and where.
- Whether the right is limited in frequency (e.g., once per year) and whether prior-year statements can be audited.
Questions to ask before signing
- Ask the landlord to confirm that an audit rights clause is included and identify the notice deadline.
- Ask the other party to clarify whether audit costs shift to the landlord upon a material overcharge finding.
- Confirm the records to be made available include actual vendor invoices, not just summary sheets.
- Consider having the lease reviewed to ensure the audit rights clause is enforceable and the window is workable.
Why scan instead of guess
The general rule tells you the baseline. Your lease tells you what you’re actually being asked to sign — and the wording is what binds. Dang reads the document and flags the clauses worth reviewing, in plain English.
The deterministic engine scores and decides what’s risky. The AI only enriches the plain-English wording — AI extracts, code decides, never the other way around.
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Common questions
What happens if I miss the audit notice deadline?
Many leases treat the reconciliation as final and undisputable once the audit window has passed. Missing the deadline often forfeits your right to challenge that year's CAM bill. Calendaring the deadline as soon as you receive each annual reconciliation statement is a commonly recommended practice.
Do all commercial leases include audit rights?
No — audit rights are a negotiated clause that appears in many, but not all, commercial leases. If the lease does not include one, it can often be added during negotiation. Without an audit clause, challenging a reconciliation is typically much harder.
Is a CAM audit worth the cost?
Industry sources generally suggest that a formal audit tends to be financially justified for larger tenants with annual CAM bills above a meaningful threshold. For smaller tenants, a less formal document review is sometimes sufficient to identify obvious overcharges. The cost-benefit depends on the size of the bill and what the lease allows.
No account required · File deleted after analysis · Not legal advice. Dang reports contract findings in plain English — general information, not legal advice about your situation. For consequential decisions, consult a licensed attorney in your state.