In multi-tenant buildings, the tenant may be required to pay a proportional share of the landlord’s repair and maintenance costs for the common areas of the building (CAM charges). In a green lease, these costs may relate to:
Green building certification
Green building law compliance
Alternative energy generation or purchase
Alternative transportation
Insurance and select endorsements
Waste management
Landscaping
Janitorial
Elective building improvement
As the landlord will seek to collect costs of maintaining a green building through CAM charges, the tenant must consider and negotiate how much of their contribution will go towards improving the overall performance of the building. If improvements made via CAM charges result in the landlord receiving rebates, credits or incentives, the tenant should insist that these are credited against their CAM charges.
