Commercial lease calculator: total cost, NNN charges and effective rent
A commercial rent quote is rarely the whole story. The headline number is usually a rate per square foot per year, and the lease type decides what is added on top. This commercial lease calculator multiplies the rate by your area, adds the NNN charges your lease passes to you (property tax, insurance and CAM, the common area maintenance), grows rent and charges every year, then takes off free rent and the tenant improvement (TI) allowance.
The result is the total lease cost, the first full month’s bill, a year-by-year table you can download as CSV, and the net effective rent, the fair way to compare two offers with different incentives. It handles gross, modified gross, single net, double net and triple net leases, and rates quoted per year or per month. Choose India to work as a shop rent calculator: rent and maintenance per sq ft per month, increases every few years, GST and the deposit. For buying rather than renting, see the cap rate calculator.
How to use the Commercial Lease Calculator
- Choose your Country, enter the area and the base rent, and say whether it is per year or per month.
- Pick the lease type. It ticks the usual charges; edit the ticks and amounts to match your lease.
- Set the term, the increase (percent or fixed) and how many years apart it comes, and how fast charges grow.
- Add any free rent months, TI allowance, GST or VAT and the security deposit.
- Read the total, the effective rent and the yearly table, and download the CSV if you need it.
Commercial Lease Calculator features
Five lease types
Gross, modified gross, N, NN and NNN, each with its usual set of tenant-paid charges.
CAM and operating charges
Property tax, insurance, CAM with an admin fee and utilities, each per area unit per year.
Escalations
A percentage or fixed step every year or every few years (15% every 3 years), with separate growth for charges.
Incentives
Free rent months, optionally covering charges too, and a TI allowance per unit.
Effective rent
Net effective rent and all-in cost per unit per year, plus a CSV of the lease years.
How the lease cost is calculated
Year rent = base rate × area, where the base rate is rate × (1 + increase)steps for percentage steps, or rate + step × steps for fixed steps, and steps = the whole number of increase intervals passed (year − 1 when rent rises every year). Charges are (tax + insurance + CAM × (1 + admin fee) + utilities) × area, grown by the charges growth rate. Free months remove base rent (and charges if you tick that box). Net effective rent = (base rent paid − TI allowance) ÷ years ÷ area.
Example: 2,000 sq ft at $30 per sq ft per year on a 5-year triple net lease with $4 tax, $1 insurance and $6 CAM per sq ft, all rising 3% a year. Year one is $60,000 rent plus $22,000 charges, so the first month is $6,833.33 and the 5-year total is $435,349. With 3 free months of rent and a $10 per sq ft TI allowance, the total falls to $420,349 ($400,349 after TI) and the net effective rent is $28.35 per sq ft per year, against $30 headline.
| Lease type | Tenant usually pays |
|---|---|
| Full-service gross | One rent; landlord pays the costs |
| Modified gross | Rent plus utilities or janitorial; base-year rules vary |
| Single net (N) | Rent plus property tax |
| Double net (NN) | Rent plus property tax and insurance |
| Triple net (NNN) | Rent plus tax, insurance and CAM |
Commercial rent in India: per sq ft per month, maintenance and GST
Indian shop and office rents are quoted per sq ft per month, with maintenance per sq ft per month on top. A 1,000 sq ft shop at ₹80 plus ₹15 maintenance costs ₹95,000 a month. On a 9-year lease with rent up 15% every three years (₹80, then ₹92, then ₹105.80) and maintenance up 5% a year, one rent-free month, the total is ₹1,19,05,582; 18% GST adds ₹21,43,005 if the landlord is registered, and a 6-month deposit is ₹4,80,000, refundable. Confirm whether the rate is on carpet or chargeable (super built-up) area, the lock-in period, who pays property tax, and stamp duty on the lease — see the rent agreement generator.
Limits and things to check
- Lease type names are conventions, not law. Your lease decides who pays what, including caps on CAM increases and exclusions.
- Confirm whether the area is rentable or usable; the difference can be 10–20% and changes your cost.
- Charges here are estimates you enter. Ask for the landlord’s operating-expense history.
- Sales tax, VAT or GST, security deposits, parking and your own fit-out costs beyond the TI allowance are not included.
- To compare rents with the price of space, use the price per square foot calculator.
Commercial Lease Calculator FAQ
How do you calculate commercial rent per square foot?
Multiply the annual rate per square foot by the area to get yearly rent, and divide by 12 for the monthly rent. 2,000 sq ft at $30 is $60,000 a year, or $5,000 a month.
How is commercial rent calculated in India?
Rent per sq ft per month × area, plus maintenance per sq ft per month × area, plus 18% GST if the landlord is registered. Choose India in the commercial lease calculator to add increases such as 15% every 3 years and the deposit.
What are NNN charges?
In a triple net lease the tenant pays property tax, building insurance and common area maintenance (CAM) in addition to base rent, usually as a share based on the space it occupies.
What is CAM in a commercial lease?
Common area maintenance covers shared costs such as landscaping, cleaning, lighting, repairs and management of the common parts. Landlords may add an admin fee.
What is net effective rent?
It is the average rent per unit per year after free rent and the TI allowance are spread across the term, so offers with different incentives can be compared.
Is there a commercial lease calculator in Excel?
This page downloads a year-by-year CSV that opens in Excel. The formulas are shown above so you can rebuild them in a spreadsheet.
Is this leasing advice?
No. It is an estimate from the numbers you enter. Have a broker or solicitor review any lease before you sign.