Common Area Maintenance
Learn about common area maintenance (CAM) in Canadian commercial real estate — what it covers, how it’s billed, and why it matters.
August 07, 2025
What is Common Area Maintenance?
Common area maintenance (CAM) refers to the costs associated with maintaining and operating shared spaces in multi-tenant properties.
Why Common Area Maintenance Matters in Real Estate
In Canadian commercial real estate, CAM charges are billed to tenants in proportion to their leased space to cover upkeep and management of common areas.
Examples:
- Landscaping and snow removal
- Security, lighting, and janitorial services
- Repairs and maintenance for shared facilities
Understanding CAM charges helps tenants and landlords budget and negotiate lease terms effectively.
Example of Common Area Maintenance in Action
The retail tenant reviewed the lease’s CAM clause to understand how shared maintenance costs would be calculated and billed.
Key Takeaways
- Covers maintenance costs of shared areas
- Billed to tenants based on leased space proportion
- Common in commercial leases
- Includes security, cleaning, and repairs
- Important for lease negotiations and budgeting
Average and median describe different aspects of the same month’s transactions. Both are affected by the mix of homes sold.
Category averages compare different homes and locations; the gaps are not estimates of the cost to upgrade an otherwise identical property.
The five categories shown account for 5,000 of the board’s 5,057 sales. The remaining 57 transactions were in other housing categories.
Monthly observations are not seasonally adjusted. Active listings count properties available at month-end; they are not construction inventory.
Average and median prices share one dollar axis. These unadjusted transaction measures do not control for changes in the homes sold.
TRREB’s 416/905 categories compare the apartments sold in each area. The difference does not isolate a location premium for equivalent units.
5680 Oak Street in Vancouver and its surrounding context. (MCMP Architects)
Ground-level renderings of the tower proposed for 5680 Oak Street in Vancouver. (MCMP Architects)
