Common Area

Common areas are the spaces no single tenant occupies exclusively but everyone relies on. In a multi-tenant medical building, this includes the lobby, shared waiting areas, hallways, elevators, restrooms, and parking. Tenants do not pay rent on common areas directly, but they share the cost of maintaining them through CAM charges. Common areas also affect how rentable square footage is calculated: a tenant's load factor adds a proportional share of common space to its usable square footage, which is how landlords recover the cost of space that generates no direct rent. For healthcare tenants, the quality and accessibility of common areas matter directly to the patient experience — an ADA-compliant, well-maintained lobby and ample parking influence whether patients return.

Common areas shape both cost and patient experience. Tenants pay for their upkeep through CAM and load factor, so understanding how they are measured and maintained protects against overpaying.

A medical office tenant leases 2,000 usable square feet in a building where the common areas — lobby, corridors, and shared restrooms — add a 15% load factor, making the rentable area 2,300 square feet for rent and CAM purposes.