OWNER WORKFLOW GUIDE
What belongs on a true commercial rent roll
Build a monthly and annual rent roll that reflects contractual rent, CAM, future steps, and lease dates.
A useful commercial rent roll is more than a list of tenants and current rent. It should explain today’s contractual income and show how that income changes over the lease term.
Core tenant and premises fields
Include tenant legal name, trade name when relevant, suite, occupied square feet, property share, lease status, commencement date, expiration date, and any current holdover or month-to-month condition.
Separate charge components
Show base rent independently from CAM, taxes, insurance, utilities, percentage rent, storage, signage, and other recurring charges. Combining everything into one number makes lease comparison and future underwriting difficult.
Show monthly and annual views
Owners need the monthly billing amount for collections and the annualized amount for budgeting and valuation. The roll should make clear whether the annual figure represents current run rate or actual scheduled revenue for the calendar year.
Include the future rent schedule
List fixed steps, percentage increases, free-rent periods, abatements, option-period rent when exercised, and commencement contingencies. A buyer or lender should not have to reread the lease to understand next year’s rent.
- Effective date
- Monthly base rent
- Annual base rent
- Increase percentage
- Source document
Reconcile the roll to tenant ledgers
The rent roll shows contractual charges; the tenant ledger shows what was billed, paid, waived, credited, or remains open. Keeping those concepts separate makes both reports more reliable.