Your state's statute of limitations determines how many years of CAM overcharges you can recover. This guide covers all 50 states, discovery rules, and contractual audit windows.
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Start partner setupTL;DR: Three clocks run on every tenant's right to recover CAM overcharges: your contractual audit window (typically 30 to 180 days), your state's statute of limitations for written contracts (3 to 10 years), and your lease's lookback limitation (often 2 to 3 years). The contractual window is almost always the binding constraint, but the statutory SOL sets the outer boundary. Every month you wait, one month of recoverable overcharges expires permanently. This guide covers all 50 states so you can calculate your exact deadline.
"I built CAMAudit with urgency detection because most tenants have no idea that three separate clocks are running on their right to dispute. Our tool flags the contractual audit window from the lease, maps it against the state SOL, and calculates exactly how many years of overcharges are still recoverable. That countdown drives action." — Angel Campa, Founder of CAMAudit
No U.S. state has enacted a statute of limitations specific to commercial lease disputes or CAM overcharge recovery. All CAM claims fall under the general written contract SOL, which varies dramatically by jurisdiction. But the statutory SOL is only one of three overlapping deadlines that determine whether you can recover overcharges.
Clock 1: The contractual audit window (30 to 180 days). Most institutional leases include a clause requiring tenants to dispute the reconciliation statement within a fixed period after receipt. The most common window is 60 days, based on ICSC practitioner guidance and institutional lease templates. Standard lease language reads: "Tenant's failure to dispute the amount of Additional Rent set forth in any statement within sixty (60) days of Tenant's receipt of such statement shall be deemed to be Tenant's approval of such statement." Missing this window creates an absolute forfeiture of that year's dispute rights, regardless of the state SOL.
Clock 2: The state statute of limitations (3 to 10 years). This is the outer legal boundary. If your lease has no audit clause, the full statutory SOL applies. Courts have confirmed that tenants retain an implied right to verify CAM charges even without express audit provisions (McClain v. Octagon Plaza, LLC, 159 Cal. App. 4th 784, 2008).
Clock 3: The lease lookback limitation (often 2 to 3 years). Many leases restrict how far back an audit can reach, regardless of the SOL. A lease may permit auditing but limit the review to the most recent 2 years. If the landlord has a record retention obligation of only 3 years, documentation for older years may no longer exist.
The binding constraint for most tenants is Clock 1. But understanding Clock 2 matters because it defines your maximum theoretical recovery window, and it becomes the operative deadline whenever a lease contains no audit clause.
The table below shows the written contract statute of limitations for every U.S. state, along with the applicable fraud SOL and key statute. The fraud discovery rule matters because if a landlord actively concealed overcharges, the SOL may be tolled until you discovered (or reasonably should have discovered) the fraud.
| State | Written Contract SOL | Fraud SOL (from Discovery) | Key Statute | Discovery Rule? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 6 years | 2 years from discovery | Ala. Code § 6-2-34 | Yes |
| Alaska | 3 years | 2 years from discovery | Alaska Stat. § 09.10.053 | Yes |
| Arizona | 6 years | 3 years from discovery | Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 12-548 | Yes |
| Arkansas | 5 years | 3 years from discovery | Ark. Code § 16-56-111 | Yes |
| California | 4 years | 3 years from discovery | Cal. CCP § 337 | Yes |
| Colorado | 3 years (6 for liquidated debt) | 3 years from discovery | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-101 | Yes |
| Connecticut | 6 years | 3 years from discovery | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-576 | Yes |
| Delaware | 3 years | 3 years from discovery | Del. Code tit. 10, § 8106 | Yes |
| Florida | 5 years | 4 years from discovery | Fla. Stat. § 95.11(2)(b) | Yes |
| Georgia | 6 years | 4 years from discovery | Ga. Code § 9-3-24 | Yes |
| Hawaii | 6 years | 2 years from discovery | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 657-1 | Yes |
| Idaho | 5 years | 3 years from discovery | Idaho Code § 5-216 | Yes |
| Illinois | 10 years | 5 years from discovery | 735 ILCS 5/13-206 | Yes |
| Indiana | 6 years (10 for written) | 2 years from discovery | Ind. Code § 34-11-2-11 | Yes |
| Iowa | 10 years | 5 years from discovery | Iowa Code § 614.1(5) | Yes |
| Kansas | 5 years | 2 years from discovery | Kan. Stat. § 60-511 | Yes |
| Kentucky | 5 years (15 for written) | 5 years from discovery | Ky. Rev. Stat. § 413.090 | Yes |
| Louisiana | 10 years | 1 year from discovery | La. Civ. Code art. 3499 | Yes |
| Maine | 6 years | 6 years from discovery | Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, § 752 | Yes |
| Maryland | 3 years | 3 years + judicial discovery | Md. Code Ann. § 5-101 | Yes |
| Massachusetts | 6 years | 3 years + tolling for concealment | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 2 | Yes |
| Michigan | 6 years | 6 years + 2-year concealment extension | Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5807 | Yes |
| Minnesota | 6 years | 6 years from discovery | Minn. Stat. § 541.05 | Yes |
| Mississippi | 3 years | 3 years from discovery | Miss. Code § 15-1-49 | Yes |
| Missouri | 5 years (10 for payment obligations) | 5 years from discovery | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120 | Yes |
| Montana | 5 years (8 for written) | 2 years from discovery | Mont. Code § 27-2-202 | Yes |
| Nebraska | 5 years | 4 years from discovery | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-205 | Yes |
| Nevada | 6 years | 3 years from discovery | Nev. Rev. Stat. § 11.190(1)(b) | Yes |
| New Hampshire | 3 years | 3 years from discovery | N.H. Rev. Stat. § 508:4 | Yes |
| New Jersey | 6 years | 6 years + judicial discovery | N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-1 | Yes |
| New Mexico | 6 years | 4 years from discovery | N.M. Stat. § 37-1-3 | Yes |
| New York | 6 years | 6 years or 2 years from discovery (whichever is longer) | CPLR § 213(2), § 213(8) | Yes |
| North Carolina | 3 years | 3 years from discovery | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(1) | Yes |
| North Dakota | 6 years | 6 years from discovery | N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-16 | Yes |
| Ohio | 8 years | 4 years from discovery | Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.06 | Yes |
| Oklahoma | 5 years | 2 years from discovery | Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 95 | Yes |
| Oregon | 6 years | 2 years from discovery | Or. Rev. Stat. § 12.080 | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | 4 years | 2 years from discovery | 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5525 | Yes |
| Rhode Island | 10 years | 3 years from discovery | R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-13 | Yes |
| South Carolina | 3 years | 3 years from discovery | S.C. Code § 15-3-530 | Yes |
| South Dakota | 6 years | 6 years from discovery | S.D. Codified Laws § 15-2-13 | Yes |
| Tennessee | 6 years | 3 years from discovery | Tenn. Code § 28-3-109 | Yes |
| Texas | 4 years | 4 years from discovery | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004 | Yes |
| Utah | 6 years | 3 years from discovery | Utah Code § 78B-2-309 | Yes |
| Vermont | 6 years | 3 years from discovery | Vt. Stat. tit. 12, § 511 | Yes |
| Virginia | 5 years | 2 years from discovery | Va. Code § 8.01-246(2) | Yes |
| Washington | 6 years | 3 years from discovery | Wash. Rev. Code § 4.16.040 | Yes |
| West Virginia | 10 years | 2 years from discovery | W. Va. Code § 55-2-6 | Yes |
| Wisconsin | 6 years | 6 years from discovery | Wis. Stat. § 893.43 | Yes |
| Wyoming | 8 years (10 for written) | 4 years from discovery | Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105 | Yes |
Note: Statutes are subject to change and court interpretation. Verify the current version with legal counsel in your jurisdiction. Every state recognizes some form of fraud discovery rule, either by statute or judicial doctrine.
Illinois (10 years, 735 ILCS 5/13-206) provides the most generous statutory runway in the country. A tenant discovering a systematic overcharge in 2026 can potentially challenge reconciliations back to 2016. For a $4,200/year denominator error, that is $42,000 in cumulative recovery versus $16,800 in a 4-year state.
Iowa (10 years), Louisiana (10 years), Kentucky (up to 15 years for written contracts), Rhode Island (10 years), and West Virginia (10 years) also provide extended windows, though commercial lease volume in these states is lower than the major metro markets.
Ohio (8 years, Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.06) gives tenants a substantial lookback in a state with significant commercial real estate activity in Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati.
New York (6 years, CPLR § 213(2)) is notably tenant-friendly on fraud claims. The fraud SOL is the greater of 6 years from the act or 2 years from discovery (CPLR § 213(8)), meaning if you discover concealed overcharges in 2026, you may be able to reach back to 2020 or earlier.
California (4 years, CCP § 337) and Texas (4 years, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004) provide the shortest windows among major commercial markets. Tenants in these states face the most urgency.
Florida (5 years, Fla. Stat. § 95.11(2)(b)) sits in the middle, with a 4-year fraud SOL providing additional reach when landlord concealment can be demonstrated.
North Carolina, Maryland, South Carolina, Mississippi, Delaware, Alaska, and New Hampshire all impose 3-year SOLs. Tenants in these states lose recoverability faster than anywhere else and should treat CAM auditing as an annual practice.
Colorado's general contract SOL is 3 years (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-101), though CAM charges characterized as "liquidated debt" may qualify for the 6-year period under § 13-80-103.5.
Every state recognizes some form of fraud discovery rule. This doctrine provides that the SOL is tolled (paused) when the defendant actively concealed the cause of action, and does not begin running until the plaintiff discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the fraud.
What triggers the discovery rule in CAM disputes:
Key case law supporting discovery rule in CAM context:
Michigan's concealment extension is particularly powerful: Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5855 adds 2 years from discovery of the fraud regardless of whether the standard SOL has already expired.
Beyond the discovery rule, two additional doctrines can extend a tenant's recovery window.
Courts may toll the SOL when circumstances beyond the tenant's control prevented timely filing. In the CAM context, this typically applies when the landlord withheld records that the tenant needed to discover the overcharge. The tenant must demonstrate due diligence in pursuing the claim once the impediment was removed.
Each annual CAM reconciliation is a separate breach with its own limitations period. In HOV Services, Inc. v. ASG Technologies Group, Inc. (N.Y., 2024), the court held that each instance of non-payment under an ongoing obligation constituted "an independently actionable claim with its own limitations period." The Illinois appellate court reached the same result in Luminall Paints, Inc. v. LaSalle National Bank, applying the "installment theory."
The practical implication: a tenant who discovers a pattern of overcharges can recover for all years within the SOL window, even if the pattern began much earlier. Each year's reconciliation stands on its own. A pro-rata denominator error that started in 2018 and continued through 2025 is recoverable for every year that falls within the SOL, even though the error originated before the window opened.
Institutional landlords systematically insert audit clauses that compress the dispute window from years to weeks. These contractual deadlines operate independently of the state SOL and, in most jurisdictions, are enforceable even when they are shorter than the statutory period.
Common contractual audit windows:
Consequences of missing the contractual window: Standard lease language treats the missed deadline as an absolute forfeiture. Courts enforce these provisions strictly, particularly when combined with "time is of the essence" language. Without a TIOTE clause, courts may interpret deadlines flexibly. With one, missing the window by even a single day can be fatal.
When the lease contains no audit clause: The full statutory SOL applies. In P.V. Properties, Inc. v. Rock Creek Village Associates LP, 549 A.2d 403 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1988), the court held that landlords must provide itemized expense statements, not mere aggregate numbers. In Upper Krust South, Inc. v. School Employees Retirement Board of Ohio (1996 WL 139406), the court implied a full audit right as "indispensable to effectuate the intentions of the parties."
Step 1: Locate the audit rights clause in your lease. Search for terms like "audit," "inspect," "examine," "reconciliation," "dispute," or "object." The clause may appear in the operating expense section, the Additional Rent section, or as a standalone provision.
Step 2: Identify the time limit. Look for language specifying how many days after receipt of the reconciliation statement you have to dispute or request an audit. Common phrasing: "within [X] days of receipt," "within [X] days of delivery," or "within [X] days of the date of the statement."
Step 3: Check for lookback restrictions. Some leases limit audits to the most recent 1 to 2 years, regardless of the SOL. This narrows your effective recovery window.
Step 4: Note any audit restrictions. Institutional landlords layer additional barriers: prohibitions on contingency-fee auditors, requirements for nationally recognized CPA firms (where engagement costs run $16,000 to $56,000), confidentiality provisions, cost-shifting thresholds (landlord reimburses audit costs only if overcharges exceed 5 to 10%), and pre-payment requirements.
Step 5: Cross-reference with your state's SOL. If your lease has no audit clause or you are past the contractual window but within the state SOL, consult an attorney about whether the statutory period still applies to your claim.
Step 6: Act before the next deadline expires. Each month you wait, one month of recoverable overcharges expires permanently. A $6,800/year denominator error in a 6-year SOL state represents $40,800 in total recovery today. Wait one more year and the oldest year drops off: $34,000. The cost of waiting is never zero. The 5-audit credit pack covers your full lookback window at the lowest per-audit cost.
40% of commercial CAM reconciliations contain material billing errors (PredictAP, 2026)
The urgency is not hypothetical. Here is how delay works against you:
The statutory clock does not restart. Each annual CAM reconciliation creates a separate cause of action with its own SOL. Receiving a new 2025 reconciliation does not reset the clock on 2020. Under the installment theory confirmed in Luminall Paints and HOV v. ASG, each year stands alone.
Equitable defenses strengthen with every payment. Each month of silent payment bolsters a landlord's voluntary payment defense. In Murray Hill Mews Owners Corp. v. Rio Restaurant Associates L.P.*, 938 N.Y.S.2d 59 (1st Dept. 2012), eight years of payment without protest was held to conclusively demonstrate the tenant's acceptance of the landlord's methodology.
Records disappear. Most leases require landlords to retain records for only 2 to 3 years. Even if the SOL permits a 6-year lookback, the supporting documentation may no longer exist after 3 years.
Errors compound. Unchallenged overcharges inflate the baseline for subsequent years. A $15,000 initial overcharge compounds to far more than you might expect over five years, before accounting for inflated management fees and monthly estimate overpayments.
What is the statute of limitations for CAM overcharges in my state?
There is no CAM-specific statute of limitations. CAM overcharge claims fall under your state's general written contract SOL, which ranges from 3 years (North Carolina, Maryland, Colorado, South Carolina) to 10 years (Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Rhode Island, West Virginia). Ohio allows 8 years, and Kentucky allows up to 15 years for written contracts. Check the full 50-state table above to find your state's deadline.
Does the contractual audit window override the state statute of limitations?
In most cases, yes. If your lease requires disputes within 60 or 90 days of receiving the reconciliation, that contractual deadline is the operative constraint, not the state SOL. Courts generally enforce these provisions, especially when the lease includes 'time is of the essence' language. However, if your lease contains no audit clause, the full statutory SOL applies.
Can the statute of limitations be extended if my landlord concealed overcharges?
Every state recognizes some form of fraud discovery rule that tolls (pauses) the SOL when the defendant actively concealed the overcharge. The clock restarts from when you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the fraud. New York is particularly tenant-friendly: the fraud SOL is the greater of 6 years from the act or 2 years from discovery. Michigan adds a 2-year extension from discovery regardless of whether the standard SOL has expired.
How far back should I audit my CAM reconciliations?
Audit every year within your state's SOL window. A systematic error like a pro-rata denominator miscalculation recurs identically every year. At $6,800/year in a 6-year SOL state, that is $40,800 in total recovery versus $6,800 if you audit only the current year. Each year you do not audit, the oldest recoverable year drops off permanently. Check your lease for lookback restrictions that may narrow the effective window below the statutory SOL.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or accounting advice. Statutes of limitations vary by state and depend on the specific facts of each case. The table above reflects general statutory periods as of the article date but is not a substitute for legal research or attorney advice. Consult a qualified commercial real estate attorney before submitting a dispute claim.
