Common Area Realities—What You're Paying For (And What You're Not)

Common areas are part of every commercial lease—but the way they're calculated and

charged can get murky fast. From lobbies to restrooms to mechanical rooms, you’re

often paying for space you don’t directly control.

The key is transparency.

One of our tenants flagged an increase in CAM fees. We reviewed the landlord’s

statement and discovered they were allocating marketing costs for the whole property to

tenants—without prior notice. That wasn’t part of the lease. We pushed back. They

refunded the charge.

Know Your Common Area Terms:

Load factor (and how it’s calculated)

What’s included in CAM (and what’s not)

Whether expenses are fixed or variable

Audit rights for annual reconciliations

At CIG, we manage and disclose common area costs clearly. Because trust starts with

transparency.