Janitorial / Cleaning Services in CAM Reconciliation
Regular cleaning and maintenance of common areas and (in full-service leases) tenant suites. Includes nightly cleaning, restroom maintenance, floor care, window washing, and day porter services for lobbies and common areas.
Benchmarks per SF
Source: BOMA EER / IREM 2024
Typical GL Codes
Recoverable Components
- Common area nightly cleaning
- Restroom cleaning and supplies
- Common area day porter services
- Periodic floor care (stripping, waxing)
- Window washing (interior and exterior)
- Trash removal from common areas
Non-Recoverable Components
- Above-standard cleaning (requested by specific tenants)
- Construction cleanup
- Move-in/move-out cleaning
- Cleaning of vacant suites (varies by lease)
Allocation Method
Pro-rata by rentable square footage for common area janitorial. Subject to gross-up: janitorial is a variable expense that decreases with vacancy (fewer occupied suites to clean, fewer restroom users). Standard gross-up to 90-95% occupancy.
Common Lease Language
“Landlord shall provide janitorial services to the Common Areas and the Premises five (5) nights per week, exclusive of holidays, in accordance with the cleaning specifications attached as Exhibit C.”
Common Billing Errors
- Failing to gross up janitorial costs when occupancy drops below 90%
- Including above-standard cleaning charges in the CAM pool
- Charging for vacant-suite cleaning without lease authority
- Not adjusting when the cleaning contract is renegotiated at lower rates
Year-over-Year Trends
Janitorial costs have increased 10-15% since 2020 due to labor shortages, minimum wage increases, and enhanced cleaning standards established during COVID-19. Day porter services have become standard in Class A buildings, adding $0.50-1.00/SF to janitorial costs.
Audit Flags for Janitorial / Cleaning Services
Review this category before tenant statements go out when the GL activity, lease language, or benchmark range moves out of pattern.
- Compare current-year spend to prior-year actuals and budget by account.
- Separate contract base charges from one-time repairs, credits, and late invoices.
- Check whether the lease treats this category as controllable, non-controllable, or excluded.
- Verify that direct tenant charges are not also included in the shared CAM pool.
- Retain invoices for material variances in the audit support package.
Additional Context
Janitorial is the prototypical gross-up expense: it is clearly variable with occupancy. If a 100,000 SF building is 80% occupied, the janitorial contract may be $220,000 (cleaning 80,000 SF of suites plus common areas). Grossing up to 95% occupancy estimates $261,250, ensuring existing tenants pay their fair share rather than subsidizing vacant space.
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