CAM Overpayment Calculator

Estimate the dollars at stake from an overstated building denominator · informational

Your CAM (Common Area Maintenance) share is your suite's size divided by the building's total size — the denominator. If your landlord bills your share against a building size smaller than the building's true size, your share, and every CAM dollar you pay, is inflated. This free calculator estimates that overcharge. It's informational — a first look, not a determination — and the denominator is only one of several places CAM overcharges hide.

How is the estimate calculated?

The estimate is your annual CAM paid multiplied by (1 − landlord's denominator ÷ true building size). If the landlord billed your share on 90,000 sq ft when county records show the building is really 100,000 sq ft, your share is overstated by about 10%, so $20,000 of annual CAM implies roughly $2,000 per year of denominator-driven overcharge — and most leases let you look back several years. This is the same denominator check explained in your pro-rata share.

Where do you find the true building size?

County assessor and property-tax records list a building's gross building area (GBA/GFA). If your landlord is a public REIT, the building's square footage may also appear in its SEC filings — a figure the landlord published itself. Verifying your CAM with public records walks through exactly where to pull these numbers and how to compare them to your statement.

What should you do with the estimate?

Treat it as a first look that tells you whether a closer review is worth it. Most commercial leases give you a time-limited right-to-review-records window to request the landlord's supporting documentation after a reconciliation — that's where you'd confirm the building total and the allocation. The estimate here is informational; bring any discrepancy to your own attorney or CAM auditor.

Informational only; not legal advice and not an audit or attest service. This estimate is a simplified first look based on the figures you enter and does not account for every lease term. ReCAM is not a CPA firm and these services are not regulated by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy. © ReCAM Technologies LLC.