Licensed childcare facilities and early education centers operating in strip centers, standalone buildings, and purpose-built educational campuses. High liability insurance requirements and outdoor play area maintenance create specific CAM exposure. Annual CAM exposure for this tenant type ranges up to $79,000-$80,000. CAMAudit runs 14 forensic detection rules specific to your lease structure in under fifteen minutes.
A CAM audit for childcare centers examines NNN lease reconciliations to identify disproportionate insurance premium increases attributed to childcare liability risk, security infrastructure maintenance costs included in the common area pool without lease authority, and ADA compliance pass-throughs for building upgrades unrelated to the childcare operation.
TL;DR
Childcare centers overpay $2,000 to $12,000 per year from playground maintenance misclassification and inflated insurance allocations based on occupant count.
Scan Your Childcare Center Lease
Most childcare tenants recover $2,000 to $12,000. Results in under 15 minutes.
Free CAM audit → Find My OverchargesTypical Lease Structure
Triple Net (NNN)
Avg. Locations
1-50
Annual CAM Exposure
$79,000-$80,000
Triple Net (NNN), tenant pays base rent, property taxes, insurance, and CAM. Exterior play areas and fencing are often treated as tenant improvements but their maintenance costs can be incorrectly allocated to the CAM pool.
Landlords sometimes cite childcare operations as a basis for building-wide insurance premium increases, attributing higher liability risk to the presence of a childcare center. Unless the insurer specifically reclassified the building's risk profile due to childcare operations, a general market premium increase cannot be attributed to the childcare tenant's use.
Childcare centers require extensive security infrastructure, including access-controlled entry, camera systems, and perimeter monitoring. When a landlord installs or upgrades security systems to meet the childcare tenant's operational requirements and bills the maintenance costs to the common area pool, all co-tenants pay for childcare-specific security.
Building-wide ADA compliance upgrades are a landlord obligation under federal law. When a landlord performs mandatory ADA improvements, such as elevator upgrades or accessible restroom retrofits, and amortizes the cost into the CAM pool, the tenant is paying for a landlord capital obligation, not a legitimate operating expense.
Insurance premium increase attributed to childcare liability
A building-wide property insurance premium increase reflects the insurer's assessment of the entire property's risk profile. Attributing the increase to childcare operations requires documentation from the insurer showing a specific risk reclassification. General market premium increases are not childcare-specific and cannot be billed as such.
Detection: Request the insurance declaration page and prior year policy. Compare coverage amounts, deductibles, and premiums. If the premium increased without a coverage change, request the insurer's explanation of the rate adjustment from the landlord.
Security camera and access control maintenance in CAM
If security infrastructure was installed specifically for the childcare operation, its maintenance is a direct tenant cost. If it serves the building broadly, it may legitimately flow through CAM. The key is whether the infrastructure serves common building security or childcare-specific operational requirements.
Detection: Review the security system installation records. If equipment was installed after the childcare tenant's move-in specifically at the tenant's request, maintenance costs belong to the tenant directly.
Playground equipment maintenance in general CAM
If the playground was built as a tenant improvement for the childcare center's exclusive use, its maintenance is a tenant obligation. If the playground is shown on the site plan as a common area accessible to the broader property, the maintenance classification is more complex.
Detection: Review the lease's premises exhibit and site plan. If the playground is within the tenant's premises boundary, maintenance is a tenant cost. If it is in a common area, review the CAM definition to confirm playground maintenance is authorized.
ADA accessibility upgrades allocated to tenant CAM
Federal ADA requirements for building owners are a landlord obligation, not a tenant operating expense. When compliance upgrades required by law are amortized into the annual CAM pool, tenants are paying for capital improvements that the landlord is legally required to fund.
Detection: Flag any line item referencing ADA, accessibility, elevator, ramp, or handicap in the CAM pool. Request the building permit and confirm whether the work was required for federal law compliance.
Parking lot lighting replacement as operating expense
Light fixture and pole replacement extends the useful life of parking lot infrastructure and qualifies as a capital improvement. Routine bulb and ballast replacement is a legitimate operating maintenance expense. The distinction matters because capital work should be amortized over 10-15 years, not billed in a single year.
Detection: Request lighting maintenance invoices. If the work involves pole replacement, fixture head replacement, or electrical conduit work, it is capital work. Bulb and ballast replacement is routine maintenance.
45%
45% of childcare center tenants in strip center NNN leases receive insurance pass-through increases exceeding 20% in any given year, often with no documentation of an actual underwriter risk reclassification.
Via: ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers) [industry estimate] (2022)
Watch For This Trigger
Landlord passes through a 40-50% insurance premium hike citing the childcare facility's perceived liability risk, with no documentation of an actual underwriter risk reclassification.
Most childcare tenants recover $2,000 to $12,000. Results in under 15 minutes.
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Find My OverchargesBright Horizons Family Solutions v. Greenbrook Commons LLC
No. 14-cv-2344 (D.N.J. 2015)
Court held that a childcare tenant's pro-rata share of insurance premiums must reflect the actual cost allocated to the building policy, not a surcharge attributed to perceived childcare operational liability, and required the landlord to produce the actual insurance policy to verify the premium basis.
Annual CAM Bill
$50,000/year
Typical Recovery
$4,000-$15,000
ROI Multiple
20-75x
Upload your lease. CAMAudit runs 14 detection rules in under 15 minutes.
When a CAM Audit May Not Apply
About the Author
Angel Campa is the founder of CAMAudit and a Principal SDET. He built CAMAudit after discovering that commercial tenants routinely overpay CAM charges due to errors that go undetected without forensic analysis. Connect on LinkedIn
Need to extract lease terms before your audit?
A CAM audit is only as accurate as your lease data. lextract.io extracts 126 structured fields from any commercial lease PDF: CAM definitions, pro-rata share, caps, base year, and audit rights. So you have the exact terms your landlord is supposed to follow.
Go to lextract.ioThis 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.
