CAM Reconciliation Variance Calculator

Any variance exceeding 5% above inflation warrants investigation. A 10-15% increase with no major building improvements, new vendors, or capital projects is a strong red flag. Even landlords acting in good faith make billing errors; large variances are how they are most often found.

Common causes include new or renegotiated vendor contracts, capital expenditures improperly entered as operating expenses, changes in management fee base, inclusion of non-recoverable charges, new cost categories added to the pool, and genuine cost inflation in utilities or labor.

Most leases give tenants the right to request detailed expense documentation, including invoices, vendor contracts, and accounting records. Send a formal written request citing your audit rights clause. If your lease lacks an audit rights clause, consult an attorney about your options under state law.

A variance above 10% is a strong indicator that something changed in the expense pool beyond normal inflation. Before your dispute window closes, send a written notice of intent to dispute to preserve your rights, then request the itemized expense schedule. CAMAudit runs all 13 detection rules against your actual reconciliation and lease documents, identifies which line items drove the variance, and generates a dispute letter draft you can send to your landlord.