Send this to your landlord after the lease year closes. Replace the bracketed fields with your actual information:
[Your Name or Company Name], [Property Address, Suite Number] — [Date]. Dear [Landlord or Property Manager Name]: Pursuant to Section [Audit Rights Section] of our lease dated [Lease Date] for premises at [Property Address], I am requesting the annual CAM reconciliation statement and supporting documentation for the lease year ending [Year-End Date]. Please provide: (1) the complete reconciliation statement, (2) the operating expense general ledger with vendor names and amounts, (3) invoices for line items exceeding $5,000, and (4) the management fee calculation worksheet. Please respond within 21 days. Contact me at [your email or phone].
For the complete template with full documentation request language and guidance on timing, see the sections below.
Every commercial tenant has the right to request their annual CAM reconciliation statement and the supporting documentation behind it. Most leases include an audit rights clause, sometimes called a "books and records" provision, that grants you or your accountant access to the landlord's expense records. If yours does, you're entitled to much more than just the summary statement your landlord mails you each spring.
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The problem is that most tenants don't know what to ask for, and landlords aren't inclined to volunteer more than the minimum. This guide gives you the exact language to use, when to send it, and what to expect in return.
What Is a CAM Reconciliation Statement?
At the end of each lease year, your landlord tallies up the actual Common Area Maintenance expenses and compares them to the monthly estimates you've been paying. If actual costs exceeded the estimates, you owe a "true-up" payment. If actual costs came in lower, you should receive a credit or refund.
The reconciliation statement is the document that shows this calculation. It typically lists expense categories (cleaning, landscaping, management fees, insurance, utilities, etc.), total amounts, your pro-rata share percentage, and the resulting balance owed or credited.
What it often does not include is the detail needed to verify whether those numbers are accurate. That's what you're requesting when you invoke your audit rights. For a complete overview of what CAM reconciliation is and how the process works, see what is CAM reconciliation.
When to Send the Request
Most leases require the landlord to deliver the reconciliation within 90 to 180 days of the lease year-end. If your lease year runs on a calendar year (January–December), you should expect to receive the reconciliation by March 31 at the latest, though April and May deliveries are common.
The right time to send your request is 60 to 90 days after your lease year-end. This gives the landlord time to compile the numbers while putting them on notice that you intend to review the work. If you've already received the reconciliation, send your request immediately, most audit rights clauses have a 60 to 90 day window after you receive the statement.
Do not wait until the landlord asks for payment. At that point, the leverage shifts. Send the request first.
What to Ask For
A basic reconciliation statement is almost never enough to verify accuracy. Here's what your request should cover:
The reconciliation statement itself, if you haven't received it yet, request delivery within a specific time frame (14 to 21 days is reasonable).
General ledger detail, a line-by-line list of every expense charged to the CAM pool during the period, including vendor names, invoice dates, and amounts. This is where errors hide.
Invoices for material expenses, focus on the largest line items: management fees, insurance premiums, capital expenditures or amortized costs, and any charges over $5,000.
Management fee calculation, the methodology matters. Is the fee calculated on gross revenues, on controllable expenses only, or on total CAM (including taxes and insurance)? The base affects the outcome significantly.
Pro-rata share calculation, your percentage should be based on your rentable square footage divided by the building's total rentable area, as defined in your lease. Ask for the denominator used and confirm it matches your lease definition.
Gross-up worksheets, if your lease includes a gross-up provision (common in multi-tenant buildings), the landlord is required to gross up variable expenses to reflect full occupancy. Ask for the worksheet showing how this was applied.
Capital expenditure exclusion list, if your lease excludes capital improvements from CAM, ask for a breakdown of any capital items included and the legal basis for amortizing them.
The Template Letter
Below is a template you can adapt to your situation. Replace the bracketed fields with your actual information.
[Your Name or Company Name][Property Address, Suite Number][City, State ZIP][Date]
[Landlord Name or Property Management Company][Landlord Address][City, State ZIP]
Pursuant to Section [Audit Rights Section Number] of our lease agreement dated [Lease Date] for premises located at [Property Address] (the "Lease"), we are exercising our right to review the Common Area Maintenance reconciliation for the lease year ending [Lease Year End Date].
Please provide the following documentation within [21] days of this letter:
The annual CAM reconciliation statement for the period [Start Date] through [End Date], if not already delivered.
General ledger detail for all expenses included in the CAM pool for the same period, including vendor names, invoice dates, and individual amounts.
Copies of all invoices or contracts supporting charges exceeding $[5,000] individually.
The management fee calculation, including the fee percentage applied, the calculation basis (gross revenues, controllable expenses, or total CAM), and the resulting fee amount.
The pro-rata share worksheet used to calculate our share percentage, including the denominator (total rentable area) used for the calculation.
If applicable, the gross-up worksheet reflecting the methodology used to normalize variable expenses to full occupancy.
A description of any capital expenditures included in CAM and the amortization methodology applied.
We appreciate your cooperation. If you have any questions regarding this request, please contact [Your Name] at [Phone Number] or [Email Address].
Sincerely,
[Your Signature]
[Your Printed Name]
[Title, if applicable]
[Company Name]
After You Send the Request
Keep a copy of the letter and send it via email to create a timestamped record. If your lease requires written notice by certified mail, follow that requirement, courts take notice provisions seriously.
Most landlords will respond within two to three weeks. If they don't, a follow-up call to the property manager is appropriate. If you continue to get no response, your next step is a formal notice of breach, which your attorney can help with.
Once you receive the documentation, the real work begins: checking the management fee base, confirming your pro-rata percentage, verifying the gross-up calculation, and reviewing whether any excluded expenses (capital improvements, above-standard services, depreciation) have been improperly included.
If that process sounds time-consuming, it is, unless you use a tool that runs those checks automatically.
