What audit rights do California commercial tenants have?

California commercial leases almost universally include a tenant audit right — typically requiring written notice within 60 to 180 days of receiving the annual reconciliation, then allowing inspection of the landlord's records within 30 to 90 days of notice. California Code of Civil Procedure § 337 gives tenants 4 years to file a written contract claim, which means overcharges billed as far back as 2022 may still be recoverable if you act now.

What makes San Francisco CAM charges different from other markets?

Several SF-specific cost categories appear in commercial CAM reconciliations that tenants should scrutinize carefully. BART assessment overlays and transit impact fees are sometimes passed through as operating expenses, but their lease eligibility varies by property and lease vintage. Seismic retrofit cost allocations — from the mandatory soft-story and commercial retrofit programs — are frequently disputed as capital expenditures that should not appear in operating CAM. City center management fees at Financial District and Union Square properties tend to run higher than suburban norms.

How long does the audit take?

CAMAudit completes the extraction and 14-rule analysis in under 15 minutes from upload in most cases. You get the free findings summary immediately. The full report with the dispute letter draft is available as soon as you unlock it — no waiting period.

Can CAMAudit handle the complex lease structures common in SF office and retail?

Yes. CAMAudit supports NNN, modified gross, full-service gross, and base year / expense stop structures — all common in SF's SOMA tech office, Financial District, and Union Square retail markets. The 14 detection rules adjust based on the lease type extracted from your documents.

What if my SF property has multiple buildings or a campus structure?

Multi-building campus properties can create complex pro-rata share denominator questions — whether the denominator is the single building, a complex of buildings, or the entire development. CAMAudit flags pro-rata share discrepancies based on your lease's GLA definition. For very complex multi-building structures, the audit findings give you the specific numbers to bring to your attorney.

What audit rights do California commercial tenants have?

California commercial leases almost universally include a tenant audit right — typically requiring written notice within 60 to 180 days of receiving the annual reconciliation, then allowing inspection of the landlord's records within 30 to 90 days of notice. California Code of Civil Procedure § 337 gives tenants 4 years to file a written contract claim, which means overcharges billed as far back as 2022 may still be recoverable if you act now.

What makes San Francisco CAM charges different from other markets?

Several SF-specific cost categories appear in commercial CAM reconciliations that tenants should scrutinize carefully. BART assessment overlays and transit impact fees are sometimes passed through as operating expenses, but their lease eligibility varies by property and lease vintage. Seismic retrofit cost allocations — from the mandatory soft-story and commercial retrofit programs — are frequently disputed as capital expenditures that should not appear in operating CAM. City center management fees at Financial District and Union Square properties tend to run higher than suburban norms.

How long does the audit take?

CAMAudit completes the extraction and 14-rule analysis in under 15 minutes from upload in most cases. You get the free findings summary immediately. The full report with the dispute letter draft is available as soon as you unlock it — no waiting period.

Can CAMAudit handle the complex lease structures common in SF office and retail?

Yes. CAMAudit supports NNN, modified gross, full-service gross, and base year / expense stop structures — all common in SF's SOMA tech office, Financial District, and Union Square retail markets. The 14 detection rules adjust based on the lease type extracted from your documents.

What if my SF property has multiple buildings or a campus structure?

Multi-building campus properties can create complex pro-rata share denominator questions — whether the denominator is the single building, a complex of buildings, or the entire development. CAMAudit flags pro-rata share discrepancies based on your lease's GLA definition. For very complex multi-building structures, the audit findings give you the specific numbers to bring to your attorney.

CAM Audit for San Francisco Commercial Tenants [2026]

California law gives San Francisco commercial tenants 4 years to recover CAM overcharges. CAMAudit checks your reconciliation statement against your lease in under 15 minutes — management fees, pro-rata share, seismic retrofit allocations, BART assessment pass-throughs, and 10 more overcharge categories.

Start Free CAM Audit How It Works

Why CAM Audits Matter for SF Tenants

San Francisco's commercial lease market spans dramatically different property types — SOMA tech office buildings, Union Square retail, Financial District towers, Mission District restaurant spaces, and Dogpatch industrial. CAM billing practices vary as much as the markets themselves.

City center properties along Market Street and in the Financial District have historically carried elevated management fee rates — sometimes structured in ways that push past what individual leases permit. Seismic retrofit cost allocations, BART assessment overlays, and transit impact fees have appeared in CAM pools at properties where the lease language does not clearly authorize them as operating expense pass-throughs.

Most SF tenants never audit because professional CAM auditors charge several thousand dollars upfront and take weeks. CAMAudit runs the same 14 forensic checks in under 15 minutes for a flat fee.

California Law Gives You 4 Years to Recover Overcharges

California Code of Civil Procedure § 337 establishes a 4-year statute of limitations for written contract claims. For commercial tenants, this means CAM overcharges billed as far back as 2022 may still be recoverable if you take action before the limitations period expires.

The clock typically starts running from the date each reconciliation was delivered — not from the date you discovered the error. If you have never audited your CAM charges, acting now preserves the maximum recovery window.

How CAMAudit Works

1
Upload your CAM reconciliation and lease
Upload your annual reconciliation statement and your commercial lease. Supports PDF, images, and scanned documents. No account required to start.
2
AI extracts the relevant data
CAMAudit uses AI to extract expense line items, management fee rates, pro-rata share percentages, CAM cap provisions, and base year figures from your documents.
3
14 detection rules run automatically
Each rule applies the formula from your lease to your reconciliation figures — management fee caps, pro-rata share denominators, gross-up limitations, CAM growth caps, and more.
4
Get your full report and dispute letter
Unlock the full report for $179: a line-by-line breakdown of every finding, the dollar impact, and a dispute letter draft citing your lease clauses and California law.

Run Your San Francisco CAM Audit

Upload your reconciliation and lease. Get findings in under 15 minutes. Free scan — full report for $179.

Run a free CAM scan

See a sample report first

Common Overcharge Types in the San Francisco Market

Management fee inflation at city center properties
Financial District and Union Square office and retail properties have historically shown management fee rates on reconciliations that exceed the percentage cap in individual leases. The fee base (whether calculated on gross revenues, gross expenses, or net CAM) also varies and can materially affect the permitted amount.
Seismic retrofit cost allocations
San Francisco's mandatory seismic retrofit programs have generated significant capital costs that some landlords have attempted to amortize into CAM pools. Most commercial leases exclude capital expenditures from operating CAM. Whether a seismic retrofit is a capital improvement or an operating expense depends on how your lease defines capital versus maintenance — a determination CAMAudit flags for review.
BART assessment overlays and transit fees
Certain SF properties near BART stations carry special assessment district levies. Whether these fees are a legitimate CAM pass-through depends entirely on your lease's tax and assessment definitions. Fees not mentioned or clearly encompassed by the lease's pass-through language warrant a written dispute.

Pricing

1 audit

$179

$179 per audit

3 audits

$499

$166 per audit

5 audits

$799

$160 per audit

Every audit includes the full detection report and a dispute letter draft. 30-day money-back guarantee. No account required to start.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked questions

Related Resources

Don't Leave 4 Years of Overcharges on the Table

California law lets you recover back to 2022. Start your CAM audit now — free scan, $179 for the full report.

Run a free CAM scan

See a sample report first

This page provides general educational information. It is not legal advice and may not reflect the most current law in your state. Consult a licensed attorney for advice specific to your situation.

CAM Audit for San Francisco Commercial Tenants [2026]

Why CAM Audits Matter for SF Tenants

Most SF tenants never audit because professional CAM auditors charge several thousand dollars upfront and take weeks. CAMAudit runs the same 14 forensic checks in under 15 minutes for a flat fee.

California Law Gives You 4 Years to Recover Overcharges

How CAMAudit Works

Upload your CAM reconciliation and lease

Upload your annual reconciliation statement and your commercial lease. Supports PDF, images, and scanned documents. No account required to start.

AI extracts the relevant data

CAMAudit uses AI to extract expense line items, management fee rates, pro-rata share percentages, CAM cap provisions, and base year figures from your documents.

14 detection rules run automatically

Each rule applies the formula from your lease to your reconciliation figures — management fee caps, pro-rata share denominators, gross-up limitations, CAM growth caps, and more.

Get your full report and dispute letter

Unlock the full report for $179: a line-by-line breakdown of every finding, the dollar impact, and a dispute letter draft citing your lease clauses and California law.

Common Overcharge Types in the San Francisco Market

Management fee inflation at city center properties

Financial District and Union Square office and retail properties have historically shown management fee rates on reconciliations that exceed the percentage cap in individual leases. The fee base (whether calculated on gross revenues, gross expenses, or net CAM) also varies and can materially affect the permitted amount.

Seismic retrofit cost allocations

San Francisco's mandatory seismic retrofit programs have generated significant capital costs that some landlords have attempted to amortize into CAM pools. Most commercial leases exclude capital expenditures from operating CAM. Whether a seismic retrofit is a capital improvement or an operating expense depends on how your lease defines capital versus maintenance — a determination CAMAudit flags for review.

BART assessment overlays and transit fees

Certain SF properties near BART stations carry special assessment district levies. Whether these fees are a legitimate CAM pass-through depends entirely on your lease's tax and assessment definitions. Fees not mentioned or clearly encompassed by the lease's pass-through language warrant a written dispute.

Frequently Asked Questions