I represent a tenant who wants to audit the CAM (Common Area Maintenance) utility charges in their shopping center lease. The landlord is stonewalling — won't provide copies of the utility bills for the common area meters. The lease gives the tenant audit rights but the landlord keeps saying "we'll get to it." It's been 4 months. How do I force cooperation?
Getting landlord cooperation on CAM audits
Send a formal demand letter citing the specific lease clause that grants audit rights, with a deadline of 15 business days to produce the records. Copy the tenant's attorney. If the landlord still doesn't comply, the tenant's attorney can send a follow-up threatening breach of lease. Most landlords produce records within a week of getting a letter from a lawyer. They stonewall auditors but they don't stonewall attorneys.
Phil's escalation path is correct. The lease audit clause is a contractual right — the landlord is in breach if they refuse to honor it. That said, sometimes the delay isn't intentional obstruction. Property managers are busy and pulling utility records for a tenant audit falls to the bottom of their priority list. The attorney letter moves it to the top. One tip: when you do get the records, work quickly and professionally. If the landlord has a bad experience with a slow or adversarial audit, they'll fight every future audit request.
Attorney sent the letter Tuesday. Records arrived Friday. Amazing what a letterhead can accomplish. Starting the CAM audit this week.
Ha — "amazing what a letterhead can accomplish." So true. Good luck with the audit.