CAM Audit Risk Score
10 questions · 2 minutes · Instant results
This quiz scores your portfolio's exposure to tenant audit challenges. It looks at reconciliation frequency, gross-up tracking, lease abstract completeness, and error history. Higher-risk buildings should be reviewed first.
Question 1 of 10Expense Classification
How do you classify borderline capital vs. operating expenses in your CAM pool?
Frequently Asked Questions
What triggers a tenant CAM audit?
Common triggers include year-over-year expense increases above 5 to 10%, new property management, lease renewal talks, and tenant complaints about billing. Larger tenants with audit rights are more likely to use them.
How much does a tenant CAM audit cost the landlord?
Direct costs include staff time to compile records (typically 20 to 40 hours per audit), legal review if disputes grow, and refunds if errors are found. Tenant auditors usually work on 15 to 33% contingency, so they keep a share of any overcharges they find.
Can landlords prevent tenant CAM audits?
Landlords cannot stop audits when the lease grants audit rights. But proactive reconciliation cuts audit risk. Catching errors before the tenant's auditor does removes the contingency fee and shows good-faith billing.
What is a CAM audit right clause?
A CAM audit right clause is a lease term that lets tenants inspect the landlord's books for operating expenses. Most commercial leases include one, with a 12 to 24 month lookback window and rules for CPA-conducted reviews.
This free tool only gives a rough guess. The numbers may be wrong. Check your own lease and records first. This is not legal or tax advice.
If you score high risk, tenants can run a full 14-rule CAM audit at CAMAudit.io.