Calgary and Airdrie Commercial Lease Rates:
What Is Included—and What Is Extra?

A commercial listing quotes a rate per square foot. It looks straightforward. But before you compare two spaces on that number alone, it's worth understanding what that number actually includes — and what it doesn't.

The advertised rate on a commercial listing is often just the starting point. The amount you'd actually pay each month can be meaningfully different, depending on how the lease is structured, what costs are passed through to the tenant, and what's sitting in the lease language that doesn't appear in the listing at all.

Here's what to look at.

Annual Rate or Monthly Rate?

The first thing to check is whether the quoted rate is per square foot per year or per square foot per month. In Canadian commercial real estate, rates are almost always quoted annually — but it's worth confirming, because a monthly rate would be twelve times higher than it appears.

A space listed at $18 per square foot per year on 1,000 square feet means $18,000 per year in base rent, or $1,500 per month. The same space listed at $18 per square foot per month would be $216,000 per year. That's not a hypothetical mistake — it's a question worth asking early.

Base Rent Versus Additional Rent

Most commercial leases separate two things: base rent and additional rent (sometimes called operating costs, common area maintenance, or CAM charges).

Base rent is the amount that goes to the landlord as income. It's what most listings advertise.

Additional rent is a separate charge — typically the tenant's proportionate share of costs to operate and maintain the building. This can include:

• Property taxes
• Building insurance
• Common area maintenance (parking lot, landscaping, exterior upkeep)
• Building management fees
• Utilities for common areas

In many commercial leases, additional rent is a real and significant number. It is not unusual for additional rent to add $8–$15 per square foot per year on top of the base rent — though this varies considerably depending on the property, its age, its condition, and what the landlord includes. The only way to know is to ask, and to review the lease.

Net Leases, Gross Leases, and What the Labels Actually Mean

Commercial leases are often described by labels — "net," "triple net," "gross," "modified gross" — but these labels are not standardized. BDC notes that definitions and cost allocations in commercial leases can vary significantly, and that the actual lease document matters more than its label.

As a rough guide:

• Gross lease: The landlord covers most operating costs within the base rent. The tenant pays one all-in number. These tend to be more common in multi-tenant office buildings.
• Net lease: Some portion of operating costs passes through to the tenant as additional rent, on top of the base rent. How much, and which costs, depends on the specific lease.
• Triple net lease (NNN): The tenant pays base rent plus their proportionate share of property taxes, building insurance, and maintenance costs. This is common in retail and industrial properties. The tenant's total cost per square foot is higher than the advertised base rate.
• Modified gross: A negotiated middle ground — some costs are included in the base rent, others pass through. What's included varies by deal.

The point is: "triple net" in one lease may not mean exactly the same thing as "triple net" in another. When you're comparing spaces, compare the total estimated occupancy cost — not just the base rent.

Utilities: Included or Extra?

This varies by property and by lease structure. In some leases, the tenant pays utilities directly to the utility provider. In others, utilities are metered through the landlord and billed back. In others, some utilities are included in the additional rent.

For a space with significant energy requirements — a production facility, a food service tenant, a gym — the utility question is not a footnote. It can be a major part of occupancy cost.

Always ask: which utilities are included in what I'm paying, and which do I set up and pay separately?

Parking

Parking is often not included in the advertised rate. Some landlords charge separately per stall per month. Some properties have free parking included. Some charge for reserved or covered stalls but not surface stalls.

If your business needs reliable client or staff parking, find out what it costs before you work up an offer. A space that looks competitive on rent might look different once parking is added.

Allowances and Rent-Free Periods

Landlords sometimes offer incentives — a tenant improvement allowance to help fit out the space, or a period of free rent at the start of the lease.

These can be genuinely valuable. But they don't change what you'll pay once the incentive period ends. A rent-free month at the start of a five-year lease is one month out of sixty. And a tenant improvement allowance is often accounted for somewhere in the overall deal — sometimes in a slightly higher base rent over the lease term.

An incentive that reduces upfront cost is not the same as a lower total occupancy cost. Both are worth understanding.

How to Make Two Listings Comparable

Before I compare two spaces for a client, I want to understand several things about each one:

• Is the quoted rate base rent only, or does it include some operating costs?
• What is the estimated additional rent — and what does it include?
• Are utilities included, and if so, which ones?
• What does parking cost, and what's provided?
• What lease term is the rate based on? (Rates can vary with term length.)
• Are there any incentives, and what are the conditions attached to them?

With those answers, you can build a reasonable estimate of total monthly occupancy cost for each space. Without them, you're comparing advertised rates that may not be measuring the same thing.

BDC also flags a broader set of costs worth budgeting for before you sign: moving costs, fit-up and renovation, downtime during the transition, and the possibility of rent increases over the lease term. The advertised rate is the starting point, not the full picture.

The Lease Is What Governs

No matter what a listing says, what a landlord says, or what a letter of intent describes, the signed lease is what governs. Have a commercial real estate lawyer review the lease before you sign — particularly the rent structure, additional rent provisions, renewal options, and what happens at the end of the term.

The questions above help you evaluate and compare spaces. The lease review is what protects you once you've chosen one.

This post is general guidance for businesses evaluating commercial space in Calgary and Airdrie. Lease structures, cost allocations, and market rates vary by property and by deal. Review any lease with a qualified real estate lawyer before signing, and work with a commercial real estate professional to understand the total occupancy cost of any space you're considering.