Does you monthly bill accurately reflect your commercial lease terms? Often times it doesn't. Given how complicated commercial leases can be, it's not uncommon for the landlord to make mistakes and overcharge (or undercharge) you.
Monthly cost errors can be caused by miscalculations of shared expenses, like janitorial services, liability insurance, common area maintenance and property taxes.
While you may have nailed down every single expense in your commercial lease, the person responsible for putting together the monthly bill, especially for larger landlords, probably won't review every tenants lease terms. This means that cost exclusion that you negotiated may not be reflected in your monthly rent.
It may sound strange, but you MAY NOT automatically have a right to audit your lease! You are going to want to make sure that you include a lease audit clause in your negotiations. This way you have the right to audit your landlords records every so often to make sure the details you so painstakingly negotiated are being accurately reflected in your bill.
If you have a net lease, you can use a lease audit to make sure the operating expense charges passed through to you as the tenant are fair and accurate. Landlords commonly make mistakes and even a small error could cost you thousands of dollars over the course of the lease.
Negotiate the Best Lease for Your Business
Need space for your business? This practical handbook explains how to analyze space needs, find the ideal location and then get the best possible terms.
This form contains everything businesses and landlords need to create their own gross lease.
If you wish to sublease space to another business, this is the form you need.
Commercial Net Lease for Entire Building
This form contains everything businesses and landlords need to create their own net lease for a building.
Commercial Net Lease for Part of Building
This form contains everything businesses and landlords need to create their own net lease for a space within a building.