CAM charges and NNN leases explained.
Practical guidance for dental operators evaluating rent, taxes, insurance, and pass-through operating expenses.
What are CAM charges in a dental office lease?
Common Area Maintenance (CAM) expenses can include shared-area maintenance, landscaping, parking-lot work and other costs defined in the lease. In some NNN arrangements, taxes and insurance are added separately; in others, quoted operating expenses bundle those categories.
The contract—not the marketing flyer—governs which costs may be passed through. For a dental tenant, predictable operating costs matter because patient demand and reimbursement rarely move in lockstep with property expenses.
Five places operating expense disagreements begin
- What's included? Review the precise definition of reimbursable operating expenses, including administrative fees, management costs and repairs.
- Capital expenses: Determine when large repairs or replacements can be passed through and whether they are amortized.
- Allocation: Check the rentable area denominator, occupancy adjustments and any gross-up method.
- Caps and exclusions: Differentiate controllable and uncontrollable expense categories and note excluded costs.
- Reconciliation rights: Review statement timing, document inspection or audit rights, and dispute deadlines.
Illustrative rent-plus-CAM example
Assume a 2,500 RSF suite at $30 annual base rent and $10 annual operating expenses per RSF. The illustrative annual total would be $100,000, or approximately $8,333 per month, before utilities, separately billed expenses or concessions. Changes in CAM assumptions can alter this amount materially over a multi-year term.
Use the interactive rent and CAM estimator →
What a dental practice should request
Request the current operating expense estimate, prior-year reconciliation and available definitions of rentable area and expense categories. Reconcile the calculation against the specific signed lease rather than assuming the landlord's statement is necessarily correct or incorrect.
Some disagreements require accounting, property management or legal expertise. A broker can help compare commercial alternatives and discuss changes in a renewal negotiation; this guide is not a CAM audit or opinion on recoverability.
Questions about CAM expenses
Are property taxes and insurance always CAM charges?
No. Tax and insurance reimbursements may be separately defined, bundled into operating expenses, or addressed through another lease structure. Avoid double-counting quoted categories.
Can CAM increase every year?
Costs can change, subject to lease definitions, applicable caps and actual operating expenses. Caps often do not apply to every category, so read their wording carefully.
Can a dental tenant audit CAM?
Some leases include audit or records-review rights with strict procedures and deadlines. The executed contract governs those rights.
Compare the whole lease, not one quoted number.
Prepare for a renewal, relocation or new practice lease with clear commercial priorities.