What Is a Commercial Lease? Key Terms, Types, and What to Watch For
A commercial lease is a legally binding contract between a landlord and a business tenant. Learn the key terms, lease types, and critical clauses before you sign.
A comprehensive calculator for total commercial lease occupancy cost. Enter your base rent, lease type charges, and square footage to see your true annual and monthly cost.
Total Annual Cost = (Base Rent + Operating Expenses + CAM) × Square Footage
For gross leases, operating expenses are included in base rent — set NNN charges to zero. For NNN/modified gross leases, add each pass-through separately.
| Leased Square Footage | 3,500 sq ft |
| Base Rent | $24.00/sq ft/year |
| NNN / Operating Expense Pass-Throughs | $8.50/sq ft/year |
| Monthly Parking / Other Charges | $0 |
Result
$113,750/year ($9,479/month)
| Line Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Base Rent | $84,000/year |
| NNN / Operating Expenses | $29,750/year |
| Parking / Other | $0/year |
| Total Annual Cost | $113,750/year |
| Monthly Payment | $9,479/month |
| All-In Rate | $32.50/sq ft/year |
Property taxes + insurance + CAM. Enter 0 for gross leases.
Optional: parking, storage, antenna fees, etc.
Result
$112,000/year ($9,333.33/month)
| Line Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Base Rent3,500 × $24.00/sq ft | $84,000 |
| NNN / Operating Expenses3,500 × $8.00/sq ft | $28,000 |
| Parking / Other$0/mo × 12 | $0 |
| Total Annual CostFull occupancy cost | $112,000 |
| Monthly Payment÷ 12 | $9,333.33 |
| All-In RateTotal ÷ sq ft | $32.00/sq ft/year |
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It varies significantly by market, building class, and lease type. Class A office in major markets runs $35–$80+/sq ft/year all-in. Retail strip center space typically runs $18–$35/sq ft base rent with $6–$12/sq ft NNN charges. Industrial/warehouse space ranges from $8–$15/sq ft all-in depending on the market.
In a NNN lease, your rent is split: you pay base rent plus separate operating expense pass-throughs (taxes, insurance, CAM). In a gross lease, all operating expenses are bundled into a single rent figure. NNN leases tend to have lower base rents but total occupancy cost is often similar. Use this calculator with NNN set to zero for gross lease comparisons.
A commercial lease is a legally binding contract between a landlord and a business tenant. Learn the key terms, lease types, and critical clauses before you sign.
Free rent escalation calculator for commercial leases. Model CPI-indexed, fixed annual %, and step rent schedules. See exactly how much your base rent will grow over years 1–10.
Amendments change the original lease but aren't always reflected in the base abstract. Here is how to handle amendments correctly.
Lextract pulls rent amounts, escalation schedules, CAM caps, pro-rata share, and 120+ more fields from any commercial lease PDF in minutes. Just $15 per lease.
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