Predictable economics

Use a clear measurement standard (BOMA) so rentable area reflects corridors, floor washrooms, lobbies and other building common areas, not just what the tenant occupies. Newer BOMA approaches capture more shared areas than older versions—so name the version and your re-measurement rights in the lease.

Full cost recovery

• Build in gross-up for variable expenses (utilities, janitorial) where there’s vacancy, so actual users—not you—bear those costs.

• Address parking: if you charge for parking or use an operator, the lease should let you pass legitimate parking facility costs net of parking revenues (and then actually net them in practice to avoid disputes).

• Define admin/management fees sensibly (often 3–5% of gross rent) and avoid double-counting where third-party managers are used.

Clarity on extras

• Publish a rate sheet for after-hours HVAC, elevator bookings, security and special janitorial and attach it to the lease; surprises create friction.

Control and flexibility

• Keep termination-in-lieu rights on transfers (recapture) where appropriate and craft relocation rights that are usable (comparable space, who pays, limits on timing/frequency).

Strong exit mechanics

• Require make-good/restoration at end of term (remove fixtures, specified improvements) and set clear timelines—this protects re-leasing schedules and back-to-base condition.

Measurement & Rentable Area

• Specify the BOMA office standard (by year) and your right to verify and re-state area after build-out; align proportionate-share math to that standard. Newer BOMA methods include additional building common areas—naming the standard avoids disputes.

Operating Costs (TMI/CAM) & Gross-Up

• Define what’s recoverable, what’s excluded, and how gross-up applies during vacancy to keep recovery whole.

• State audit procedures and cure windows to resolve math or categorization issues without litigation.

Parking Economics

• Treat garages/lots correctly in operating-costs and net out parking revenues before passing costs through—then operationalize it so you stay contract-compliant.

Admin/Management Fees

• Set a clean percentage (commonly 3–5%) and clarify that other third-party admin/consulting costs aren’t double-charged.

• Attach an exhibit with the building’s rates for after-hours HVAC, elevator and freight use, security, and special cleaning, and reserve rights to update with notice.

Transfers & Tenant Mix Control

• Consent standard (reasonable), recapture/termination-in-lieu for high-value sublets or assignments, sharing-of-profit on transfers, and financial-strength tests.

Relocation Right (Your Flexibility Tool)

• Landlord option to relocate with comparable premises, ample notice, full cost coverage, and limits on frequency/seasonality; protects stack planning and re-tenanting strategy.

Repairs, Services & Service Failures

• Allocate base building vs. tenant obligations cleanly. Include practical remedies (e.g., service credits rather than open-ended abatement) for shortfalls you control.

Insurance, Indemnities & Risk

• Require appropriate limits and waivers; keep subrogation clean and lender-friendly.

Make-Good & Holdover

• List what must be removed and the state of return; set holdover rent to deter overstays and protect the next deal.

Enforcement & Remedies (when there’s a default)

• Demand & default notices with precise cure periods.

• Termination and re-entry where permitted, with a documented mitigation plan and clear accounting.

• Security realization on deposits/LCs/guarantees; future-rent claims where the lease allows.

• Cost recovery for enforcement, plus clean exit documentation to speed re-leasing.

1) Measurement drives your rent.

Rent is typically based on “rentable area,” not just the space you can use. Under BOMA’s office standard, landlords may charge rent on some common areas (lobbies, corridors, washrooms on the floor, even certain building service areas), which increases the rentable area compared with what you physically occupy. That’s why “usable vs. rentable” and which BOMA version the lease references really matters. Newer BOMA approaches tend to make rentable areas larger than the older 1989 standard.

2) Operating costs are “grossed-up.”

In partially vacant buildings, leases often let landlords “gross-up” variable expenses (utilities, janitorial) to what they would have been at full occupancy. Done properly, this allocates costs to the users rather than making the landlord absorb vacant-floor expenses.

3) Parking Arrangements

If the landlord charges for parking or leases the garage to an operator, many leases require those revenues to be credited against the parking facility’s operating costs before they’re passed through to tenants.

4) Admin/management fees add up.

It’s common to see a 3–5% “administration” fee on gross rentals layered into operating costs, on top of third-party managers or consultants the landlord may also hire. Make sure the fee and inclusions are reasonable and not double-counted.

5) Extra charges aren’t in the headline rent.

After-hours HVAC, elevator bookings (moving in/out), security, and special janitorial are often billed separately. Ask/provide the rate sheet up front.

6) End-of-term “make-good” can be expensive.

Most office leases require you to remove fixtures and restore the premises at the end—unless you negotiate scope and exceptions now (e.g., what can stay).

7) Transfers and relocations

Some office forms let the landlord terminate instead of consenting to your assignment/sublet, and many allow relocation to “comparable” space.