How to Read the CAM and NNN Section of a Lease
To read the CAM and NNN section of a lease, ask what the proposed lease includes rather than rely on the label.
At Reach Commercial Real Estate, we represent tenants. We help you find locations, compare costs, investigate property questions and negotiate the lease. You bring your business plans. We help you evaluate where those plans fit.
This guide covers what the labels mean, the cost lines to add up, the CAM caps to ask for and what Florida says about sales tax on rent.
1. Find the CAM and NNN lines on the flyer
A listing gives us a starting point. We ask for the information needed to evaluate the property.
For each candidate, we request:
Asking rent and quoted square footage.
CAM or NNN estimates and other lease charges.
Annual rent increases.
We write down what the flyer left out. If a critical answer is missing, we keep the property under investigation. We do not treat an unanswered question as an approval.
2. Learn what CAM and NNN mean
CAM means common area maintenance. NNN generally refers to property tax, insurance and maintenance charges. We ask what the proposed lease includes rather than rely on the label.
Gross rent includes most building costs. NNN, or triple net, rent adds your share of property taxes, insurance and common area maintenance on top of base rent.
A gross quote and an NNN quote are not a fair fight until you add the NNN charges back.
Our Brevard County Commercial Rent Guide breaks down how rents are quoted here.
3. Add every charge to the occupancy review
Our checklist counts your true monthly occupancy cost as base rent plus CAM and NNN, utilities, insurance and other charges.
In the full occupancy review, we also include:
Scheduled increases.
Repairs and maintenance assigned to you.
Construction and equipment installation.
Deposits.
Rent due before opening.
We line up offers on total occupancy cost per year. Always compare total cost per year, never base rent alone.
The comparison should show what you pay to get open and what you pay to stay open.
4. Ask for CAM caps in the lease
CAM caps are on our lease checklist, and we advise you to ask for each term on it.
When we negotiate the lease, we cover rent and concessions first. Then we move to the clauses that bite later: CAM caps, HVAC, escalations and assignment.
We also focus on maintenance obligations and additional charges. Your Florida commercial leasing attorney reviews the legal language and documents.
5. Check the tax line on rent
The Florida Department of Revenue says the state sales tax imposed on rent or license fees for the use of real property (commercial rentals) under section 212.031, Florida Statutes, is repealed effective October 1, 2025.
That means no state sales tax or discretionary sales surtax applies to rent or license fees for rental or occupancy periods beginning on or after October 1, 2025 (Tax Information Publication 25A01-04).
Extra items to check
The roof. We negotiate who pays for the roof, along with rent, free rent, tenant improvement dollars and renewal options.
HVAC. HVAC is one of the clauses that bite later, along with CAM caps, escalations and assignment.
Deposits and rent due before opening. Your occupancy review should include them, along with utilities and repairs and maintenance assigned to you.
Insurance requirements. Keep track of them with your possession dates and rent commencement.
Start your search with Reach
You do not need to find the property before calling us. Helping you find and evaluate the property is part of our work.
Bring your requirements, budget, preferred area and target opening date. For each candidate, we request CAM or NNN estimates and other lease charges. We will use those details to build your search, compare locations and negotiate the lease. In most deals the landlord pays our fee.
Already found a space? Send me the address and listing. We will start with the property questions and deal terms you need to investigate.
Cassandra Hartford, Reach Commercial Real Estate, 321-514-0876, cassandra@reachcommercialre.com, 909 E New Haven Ave #300, Melbourne, FL 32901.
Related: the guide to operating expense charges and the leasing guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is rent for periods before October 1, 2025 still taxed?
The publication lists rent or license fee payments for rental or occupancy periods through September 2025 as excluded from the repeal, even if payment is made on or after October 1, 2025. It adds that delayed payment of rent for taxable rental periods does not avoid tax.
Is rent for a parking space covered by the repeal?
The publication lists parking or storage spaces for motor vehicles in parking lots or garages as still taxable under s. 212.03.
Sources
Written by Cassandra Hartford, founder and CEO of Reach Commercial Real Estate. She has worked in Brevard County commercial real estate for 17 years, representing buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants across Florida's Space Coast.
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