Empty conference room and city view used as editorial context. Not a photographed customer.

occupancy costs

What belongs in occupancy cost?

What belongs in occupancy cost?

Occupancy cost is the full bill to sit in the space. Rent is one line. CAM, tax, insurance, and other tenant-paid extras can make a cheap face rent lose.

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Compare occupancy costs

Questions people ask next

What is total occupancy cost?

Total occupancy cost is rent plus the extras a tenant still pays to sit in the space, including CAM, tax, and insurance.

What is CAM?

CAM is common area maintenance. The tenant pays a share of shared building cost, then a later true-up should follow.

What hidden costs do tenants miss?

Tax jumps, insurance spikes, CAM true-ups, parking, and move-in spend should sit beside rent on the occupancy list.

What is occupancy cost per foot?

Occupancy cost per foot is the yearly lease stack divided by the feet the tenant pays for on one shared basis.

Read What is total occupancy cost in a commercial lease? when you need the next deep answer.

Read What is CAM in a commercial lease? when you need the next deep answer.

Read What hidden occupancy costs do tenants miss? when you need the next deep answer.

Read What is occupancy cost per square foot? when you need the next deep answer.

What is total occupancy cost in a commercial lease? · What is CAM in a commercial lease? · What hidden occupancy costs do tenants miss? · What is occupancy cost per square foot?

Plain-language definition

Occupancy cost is what it costs to occupy, not just the rent on the flyer.

CAM means common area maintenance. It is a shared building cost. Many net leases pass it through.

Tax and insurance can sit beside CAM on a net deal.

NPV means net present value. You can discount occupancy cost, not just face rent.

Empty conference room used as editorial background. Not a customer photo.

Why it matters

The lowest rent option can have the higher total occupancy cost.

That happens when extras are large or when credits are small.

A client who buys the rent headline can feel tricked in year two.

Brokers who show extras early keep trust.

How it works

The cash flow is the list of money in and out by year. Write that list first.

  • Write rent, extras the tenant pays, and credits on one list.
  • Do not mix a full-service deal with a net deal until you restate extras.
  • If two cities differ, extras can differ more than rent.
  • Then discount if timing matters.
Later cash boxes sit farther right and look smaller than year-one cash.
Later cash is smaller in today's dollars. This is a teaching picture, not a live model.

Formula in words. Occupancy cash = rent + tenant-paid extras − credits. Then, if needed, NPV that path.

Required inputs for this page
InputMeaning
Face rentThe contract rent
CAMShared building cost
TaxIf the tenant pays it
InsuranceIf the tenant pays it

Worked example

Here is a teaching sample. It is not customer data and not a result from a live client.

Lease A start rent$33,000
Lease B start rent$30,690
Discount rate8%
Sample NPV A$351,156
Lease A vs Lease B — the extras-heavy lease
MetricLease ALease B
Start rent$33,000$30,690
Year-1 extras$14,000$14,980
Year-1 credit$4,000$2,200
Sample NPV$351,156$342,781
Cash-flow walk — the extras-heavy lease
YearRentExtrasCreditCash outValue today
Year 1$33,000$14,000$4,000$43,000$39,815
Year 2$33,990$14,420$0$48,410$41,504
Year 3$35,010$14,853$0$49,863$39,583
Year 4$36,060$15,298$0$51,358$37,750
Year 5$37,142$15,757$0$52,899$36,002
Year 6$38,256$16,230$0$54,486$34,335
Year 7$39,404$16,717$0$56,121$32,746
Year 8$40,586$17,219$0$57,805$31,230
Year 9$41,804$17,736$0$59,540$29,785
Year 10$43,058$18,268$0$61,326$28,406
Sample NPV$351,156
Two bars on one scale for Lease A and Lease B. Teaching sample only.
Both options use the same rate. The lower bar is not automatically the better lease.

How to read the sample

Sample NPV for the extras-heavy lease is about $351,156. A second path lands near $342,781. That gap is a talking point, not a promise.

Extras are already a big share here. If one path wins only because a credit sat in the wrong year, start over.

Year notes for the extras-heavy lease

  • Year 1 of the extras-heavy lease has rent of $33,000.
  • Shared building cost is $14,000.
  • A credit of $4,000 lowers the cash you pay that year.
  • Cash out this year is about $43,000. Extras are already a big share here.
  • Later cash gets a shrink for time. At 8 percent, year 1 is worth about $39,815 today.
  • Next, year 2 rent is $33,990.
  • CAM, which is a shared building cost, is $14,420.
  • There is no credit in this year.
  • You pay about $48,410 this year after extras and credits. A cheap rent story would ignore this CAM line.
  • Time shrinks later cash. At 8 percent, year 2 is worth about $41,504 today.
  • Then year 3 rent is $35,010.
  • Extras for the building come to $14,853.
  • Credits skip this year.
  • The net cash this year is about $49,863. Escalation on extras matters too.
  • Waiting has a price. At 8 percent, year 3 is worth about $39,583 today.
  • After that, year 4 rent is $36,060.
  • The shared building cost this time is $15,298.
  • No extra credit shows up this year.
  • Cash out this year is about $51,358. A second city could change this more than rent.
  • Later cash gets a shrink for time. At 8 percent, year 4 is worth about $37,750 today.
  • In year 5 of the extras-heavy lease, rent is $37,142.
  • Shared building cost is $15,757.
  • There is no credit in this year.
  • You pay about $52,899 this year after extras and credits. The last year still carries extras.
  • Time shrinks later cash. At 8 percent, year 5 is worth about $36,002 today.
  • Year 6 of the extras-heavy lease has rent of $38,256.
  • CAM, which is a shared building cost, is $16,230.
  • Credits skip this year.
  • The net cash this year is about $54,486. Keep this later year in the sum for the sample.
  • Waiting has a price. At 8 percent, year 6 is worth about $34,335 today.
  • Next, year 7 rent is $39,404.
  • Extras for the building come to $16,717.
  • No extra credit shows up this year.
  • Cash out this year is about $56,121. The row still belongs in the sum for the long path.
  • Later cash gets a shrink for time. At 8 percent, year 7 is worth about $32,746 today.
  • Then year 8 rent is $40,586.
  • The shared building cost this time is $17,219.
  • There is no credit in this year.
  • You pay about $57,805 this year after extras and credits. Keep this later year in the sum for the long path.
  • Time shrinks later cash. At 8 percent, year 8 is worth about $31,230 today.
  • After that, year 9 rent is $41,804.
  • Shared building cost is $17,736.
  • Credits skip this year.
  • The net cash this year is about $59,540. The row still belongs in the sum for the long path.
  • Waiting has a price. At 8 percent, year 9 is worth about $29,785 today.
  • In year 10 of the extras-heavy lease, rent is $43,058.
  • CAM, which is a shared building cost, is $18,268.
  • No extra credit shows up this year.
  • Cash out this year is about $61,326. Keep this later year in the sum for the long path.
  • Later cash gets a shrink for time. At 8 percent, year 10 is worth about $28,406 today.

Add those year values. The sample NPV for the extras-heavy lease is about $351,156. This is a teaching sample, not a client result.

See the comparison workflow

Assumptions

  • The sample is a net-like stack for teaching.
  • A gross lease would move extras into rent. Restate before you compare.

Edge cases

Gross versus net is a structure choice. Restate before ranking.

A cap on CAM is an extra term. Model it.

Two locations add more than rent. Think labor and tax.

Common mistakes

  • Comparing rent per foot across a gross deal and a net deal.
  • Using last year's CAM as if it cannot rise.
  • Forgetting insurance because it was on another page of the offer.

Decision implications

If extras flip the rank, lead with extras, not with rent.

If extras are unknown, say the compare is incomplete.

Compare this to related metrics

Face rent is a subset.

NPV of occupancy cost is the time-aware version of this hub.

Limits

  • This hub does not price utilities you have not listed.

When this should not drive the choice

  • If both deals are truly full-service and extras are inside rent, say that and compare the rent path.

Next step

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Trusted sources

These are public references. They are not endorsements and not client results.

  1. BOMA
  2. NAIOP
  3. U.S. Census Bureau — County Business Patterns