Commercial Lease Calculator

This calculator works out what a commercial space costs once the quoted rate stops being the whole story. One action adds the CAM, tax and insurance pass-throughs to the base rent for a triple net, modified gross or full service structure, a second converts between usable and rentable square feet so you can compare buildings on the rate per foot you can actually occupy, and a third spreads the annual escalation, the free months and the improvement allowance across the term to give an effective rate. Rates can be entered per square foot per year or per month, since both conventions are in use. Only the rent side is covered here, so utilities, your own fit-out above the allowance and the deposit are still yours to add.

Calculator Type

Areas and Rates In

Square Feet Square Metres

Both the floor areas and the per-area rates follow this. A rate per unit of area runs the opposite way to an area: $6.00 per square foot is $64.58 per square metre, not 56 cents.

The Rate Is Quoted

Per square foot or square metre per year Per square foot or square metre per month

Office and retail are usually quoted per year. Industrial space and most of the west coast are quoted per month. Getting this backwards is a twelvefold error.

Rentable Floor Area (sq ft) *

The figure the rent is quoted on, which already includes your share of the common areas.

Base Rent Rate ($ per sq ft) *

Lease Structure

CAM ($ per sq ft per year)

Common area maintenance: landscaping, parking lot, lighting, security, management fee. Ask for it as a dollar figure and ask what the management fee inside it is.

Property Taxes ($ per sq ft per year)

Building Insurance ($ per sq ft per year)

Base Year Expense Stop ($ per sq ft per year)

Modified gross only. The landlord carries operating costs up to this figure and you pay the excess. Leave at 0 for a structure that has no stop.

Other Monthly Charges ($ per month)

Reserved parking, signage, after-hours HVAC, a separate utility bill: anything charged as a flat monthly amount rather than per square foot.

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Areas and Rates In

Square Feet Square Metres

Both the floor areas and the per-area rates follow this. A rate per unit of area runs the opposite way to an area: $6.00 per square foot is $64.58 per square metre, not 56 cents.

The Rate Is Quoted

Per square foot or square metre per year Per square foot or square metre per month

Office and retail are usually quoted per year. Industrial space and most of the west coast are quoted per month. Getting this backwards is a twelvefold error.

Usable Floor Area (sq ft) *

The space inside your own demising walls: the part you can actually put desks and racking in.

Rentable Floor Area (sq ft)

Enter this or the load factor, not both. In the same unit as the usable area.

Load Factor (%)

Also called the common area factor or the add-on factor. Single tenant floors run near 0 to 8 per cent, multi-tenant floors 12 to 20, and an older building with wide corridors can pass 25.

Base Rent Rate ($ per sq ft) *

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Areas and Rates In

Square Feet Square Metres

Both the floor areas and the per-area rates follow this. A rate per unit of area runs the opposite way to an area: $6.00 per square foot is $64.58 per square metre, not 56 cents.

The Rate Is Quoted

Per square foot or square metre per year Per square foot or square metre per month

Office and retail are usually quoted per year. Industrial space and most of the west coast are quoted per month. Getting this backwards is a twelvefold error.

Rentable Floor Area (sq ft) *

The figure the rent is quoted on, which already includes your share of the common areas.

Usable Floor Area (sq ft)

Optional. Enter it and the effective rate is also given per usable unit of area.

Base Rent Rate ($ per sq ft) *

Lease Term (months) *

Annual Escalation (%)

The fixed annual bump, applied on each anniversary. A lease tied to an index instead cannot be worked out in advance, so use the cap if there is one.

Free Rent (months)

Abated months, taken at the front of the term. Ask whether the abatement covers the pass-throughs too or only the base rent; usually only the base rent.

Improvement Allowance ($ per sq ft)

The tenant improvement allowance the landlord contributes to the fit-out, treated here as a credit against the rent you pay.

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