Commercial real estate leases are dense legal documents that contain dozens of clauses pertaining to how a space may be used, when it may be occupied, and how much space the tenant is entitled to use. One of the most important lease clauses outlines the amount of rent that the tenant is required to pay each month for the privilege of occupying the space. Depending on the type of lease, the rental amount could be one fixed, “all inclusive” rate, or one rate plus some portion of the operating expenses.

In this article, we’ll explain what is an expense stop with regard to a rental amount that includes a portion of operating expenses.

What is an Expense Stop?

An expense stop is a contractual provision that protects the property owner from rising expenses over the lease term. In such a case, the property owner typically agrees to pay all of the operating expenses in the first year of the lease, which is known as the “base year amount” and sets the expense stop. If the actual operating expenses are higher than the base year amount in subsequent years, the tenant is required to pay the overage. To illustrate this point, consider the following expense stop example.

Expense Stop Example

Suppose that a tenant signs a lease in an office building for 5,000 square feet of space. The base rental amount is $10 per square foot. In year one of the lease, the landlord pays for all of the building operating expenses and the total comes out to $10,000. This is the base year expense stop amount.

Now, assume that in year two of the lease, the actual expenses turn out to be $12,000. This is above the base year expense stop amount and the tenant is responsible for the $2,000 difference. This additional rent is sometimes referred to as the “recaptured amount” or the “recovered expenses.”

To better understand the concept of an expense stop, it is helpful t explain the basic differences between the two major commercial lease types: net lease and gross lease .

Gross Lease vs. Net Lease: Difference Explained

There are two major commercial real estate (CRE) lease types—net lease and gross lease. The key difference between the two types of leases pertains to who is responsible for paying the property’s operating expenses.

What is a Net Lease?

In a net lease, the tenant pays a base rental amount plus a portion of the property’s operating expenses. In general, there are four types of net leases:

1. Single Net Lease: Tenant pays base rent plus property taxes 
2. Double Net Lease: Tenant pays base rent plus property taxes and insurance
3. Triple Net Lease: In a triple net lease, the tenant pays base rent plus property taxes, insurance, and utilities 
4. Absolute Net Lease: Tenant pays base rent plus all operating expenses for the property

The base rental amount for a net lease tends to be lower because the tenant is responsible for some or all of the operating expenses. This is not the case in a gross lease.

What is a Gross Lease?

In a gross lease, the tenant pays one monthly dollar amount and the landlord pays for the property’s operating expenses. Because of this, the monthly rental amount tends to be higher so the owner(s) can recoup as much of the operating expenses as they can. However, the gross lease structure exposes the property owner to the risk of rising operating costs. The higher these costs are, the more the owner has to pay. And the more they have to pay, the lower the net operating income and profitability of the property. To mitigate the risk of rising operating costs, some owners may choose to negotiate an “expense stop” into the lease.

Benefits and Risks of the Expense Stop Lease Clause

There are benefits and risks to the inclusion of an expense stop in a commercial lease for both property owners/landlords and tenants.

Pros & Cons for Property Owners

For the property owner/landlord, the obvious benefit is that they are protected from significant escalations in the property’s operating expenses over the term of the lease—and it also provides them with some clarity for budgeting purposes, since they can know exactly what their operating expense budget needs to be annually. However, the risk for them is that they may not be able to attract as many tenants with this structure.

Pros & Cons for Tenants

For the tenant, the benefit of an expense stop is that it reduces their required contribution to the landlord’s operating expenses. But the risk they bear is in having no control over the payment of operating expenses. A major increase in property taxes or property management fees could cause their rental costs to increase materially, and they would have no control over it. For this reason tenants should take precautions to ensure that their base year expense stop is not set artificially low, potentially exposing them to a large increase in the second and subsequent years of the lease.

Interested In Learning More?

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To learn more about our real estate investing opportunities, contact us at (800) 605-4966 or info@fnrpusa.com for more information.