Which lease type usually requires the tenant to pay common area maintenance costs?

The type of lease that typically requires the tenant to pay common area maintenance costs is the triple net lease. In a triple net lease agreement, the tenant is responsible for not only the base rent but also for three additional expenses: property taxes, building insurance, and maintenance costs. This arrangement often extends to common area maintenance (CAM) fees as well, which cover expenses related to the upkeep and management of shared spaces within a property, such as lobbies, hallways, parking lots, and landscaping.

This lease structure is common in commercial real estate, where landlords seek to minimize their financial obligations and transfer these expenses to the tenant. By understanding this, tenants can better prepare for the total costs associated with leasing a property under this type of agreement, which may influence their decision-making when considering a rental space.

In contrast, other lease types, such as gross leases, typically include most expenses within the rent charged to the tenant, meaning they do not directly cover common area maintenance costs. Residential leases also usually do not assign such expense responsibilities to the tenant in the same structured manner as seen in commercial leases.