CAM Charges

Common Area Maintenance charges — commonly referred to as CAM — represent a tenant's proportionate share of the costs required to operate and maintain shared areas of a commercial building or campus. These costs typically include janitorial services, landscaping, parking lot maintenance, snow removal (especially relevant in the Chicago area), exterior lighting, and property management fees. CAM is usually calculated as a percentage based on the tenant's occupied square footage relative to the total leasable area of the building. In medical office buildings, CAM charges can be particularly significant due to higher standards for cleanliness, ADA compliance, and shared amenity spaces. Tenants should always request a CAM reconciliation clause and negotiate annual caps — typically 3–5% — to limit unexpected increases.

CAM charges can add $3–$8/sq ft to a tenant's effective rent, significantly impacting total occupancy costs. Healthcare tenants who fail to audit CAM reconciliations or negotiate caps may overpay by thousands of dollars annually.

A physical therapy clinic occupying 2,000 of a 20,000 sq ft medical office building (10% share) would pay 10% of all CAM expenses. If total CAM costs for the year are $80,000, the clinic's CAM contribution is $8,000 annually, or approximately $4/sq ft.