Philosophy

Organizations invest considerable time, effort and resources negotiating their leases. It is only logical that they periodically verify that their landlords are adhering to the terms and conditions agreed to in the lease agreement.

Modern office leases have become increasingly complex over the years. Proper administration of multiple leases by landlords can be a daunting task and often left to relatively inexperienced staff.  Unintentional errors and misinterpretations of lease language can result in significant tenant overcharges over the lease term.  Changes in Building Ownership and Property Management serve to exacerbate problems of consistency and accountability in landlord records.

Retaining a qualified, experienced consultant to analyze an organization’s leases and audit landlord billings is essential to ensuring proper lease compliance by landlords, recovering any past overcharges, and eliminating future landlord over-billings. 

Experience shows that a comprehensive well-managed lease audit program can save an organization upwards of $2.00 per square foot annually across its lease portfolio.

Unlike real estate brokerage, accounting, or “big 4” affiliated firms which may offer lease audits as an “ancillary service”, LAAS provides dedicated lease audit services exclusively to office tenants.  LAAS does not receive fees or commissions from landlords or provide attestation services (financial audit opinions) to any landlord entity, thereby eliminating any potential conflicts of interest.

Many brokers and real estate service providers indicate to their clients that they perform lease audits.  However, these are typically only cursory reviews.  Brokers and service providers are naturally reluctant to conduct “deep dive” investigations of landlord records and point out errors when they were paid large commissions by the landlord to put the client in the landlord’s building.  They are similarly hesitant to identify the shortcomings in the lease language as this can reflect poorly on the job they did when negotiating these clauses on the client’s behalf.  

LAAS’ straight-forward approach is predicated on a thorough understanding of our clients’ strategic objectives and resolving lease audit issues consistent with those objectives and in the most professional and non-adversarial manner.

LAAS has intentionally structured a relatively “flat” organization with few staff levels.  As a result, our clients can take comfort that their audit work will not get delegated or “pushed down” to inexperienced staff as is often the case with the “Big 4” and other multidisciplinary firms.  Our structure simplifies the client’s interaction with LAAS and ensures clear lines of communication regarding audit status, negotiation progress, and settlement activity.  Our principals take a pro-active hands-on approach, remaining intimately involved in the day to day activity of each audit and critical settlement negotiations with landlords.

Through a business-oriented, practical application of our diverse skill sets, our clients have found that our performance consistently exceeds their expectations.

LAAS’ greatest strength lies in its ability to resolve the issues uncovered during the audit process. LAAS explores all options when addressing potential solutions to audit claims. Creative solutions to complex issues allow LAAS to achieve win–win settlements for the client and landlord. Our skill in negotiation has earned the praise and respect of tenants and landlords alike.