Concession
A discount or free period given to secure a lease, such as a free first month, recorded on the lease so billing and reporting reflect it.
Resources · Glossary
Property management glossary: accounting, leasing and operations terms
This glossary defines the property management and real estate accounting terms that operators, controllers and analysts use every day, from CAM gross-ups and straight-line rent to rent rolls and tenant ledgers. Each definition is short and plain; linked entries go deeper.
Glossary
Tenant ledger
- TermTenant ledger
- Also calledResident ledger
- Used inRent collection
- See alsoAR aging
Plain-language definitionUpdated
Why does shared vocabulary matter in property management?
Property companies sit between operations, accounting and law, and the same word can mean different things to each team. "Occupancy" can be physical or economic; "rent" can mean billed, collected or recognised. Clear definitions reduce errors in reporting, leases and month-end close. Where a term has a regional equivalent, such as CAM and service charge, both are listed.
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Terms A to Z
Base year
The year whose operating expenses set the baseline in a lease; the tenant pays its share of increases above that baseline in later years.
CAM (common area maintenance)
Recoverable costs of operating shared areas of a commercial property, such as cleaning, security and landscaping, billed to tenants under their leases and reconciled annually. See more.
CAM gross-up
An adjustment that restates variable operating expenses as if a building were at a stated occupancy, often 95% or 100%, so tenants in a partly vacant building pay a fair share.
Deferred rent receivable
The cumulative difference between straight-line rental income and rent billed; also called the straight-line rent receivable or accrued rent. See more.
Economic occupancy
Rent actually collected as a percentage of potential rent, reflecting vacancy, concessions and bad debt, unlike physical occupancy.
Escalation
A scheduled increase in rent, either fixed (for example 3% a year) or variable (for example linked to CPI).
Estoppel certificate
A signed statement by a tenant confirming lease terms, rent and any defaults, often required by lenders or buyers.
Gross lease
A lease where the tenant pays a single rent and the landlord pays most operating expenses.
Lease abstract
A structured summary of a lease’s key terms, dates, options and clauses. See more.
Loss to lease
The difference between market rent and the rent actually charged on in-place leases.
Net lease (NNN)
A lease where the tenant pays rent plus its share of taxes, insurance and maintenance; triple net covers all three.
NOI (net operating income)
Property revenue minus operating expenses, before debt service, capital expenditure and income tax.
Operating lease (lessor)
A lease where the landlord keeps the asset on its balance sheet and recognises rental income, usually on a straight-line basis. See more.
Pro-rata share
A tenant’s percentage of a building or pool, usually its leased area divided by the relevant total area.
Rent roll
A list of units with tenants, lease dates, rent, deposits and balances at a given date.
RUBS (ratio utility billing system)
A method of allocating utility costs to units using a formula such as occupants or square footage rather than individual meters.
Security deposit
Money held by a landlord against unpaid rent or damage, subject to caps, holding rules and return deadlines that vary by jurisdiction.
Service charge
The UK and international term for recoverable property operating costs, similar to CAM.
Straight-line rent
Recognising a lease’s total fixed rent evenly over its term, regardless of when it is billed. See more.
Tenant ledger
The running record of every charge, payment, credit and adjustment for a tenant on a lease. See the full entry.
Turnover (unit turn)
The work and time between one tenant moving out and the next moving in.
WALT / WALE
Weighted average lease term (or expiry): the average remaining lease term across a property, weighted by rent or area.
How does RIOO use these concepts?
RIOO uses these concepts as working NetSuite records and reports rather than labels. Tenant ledgers are NetSuite customer transactions, rent rolls and NOI come from saved searches, CAM pools draw on general ledger lines and straight-line schedules come from lease records. See property accounting on NetSuite.
Compare
Which property terms mean different things to operations and finance?
Several everyday property terms mean different things to operations and finance teams, which is why reports disagree even when nobody has made a mistake. Rent, occupancy, vacancy, deposits, turns and recoveries each have an operational meaning tied to units and a financial meaning tied to the ledger, and both are legitimate.
| Term | What operations usually means | What finance usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | The amount on the lease | Rent billed, collected or recognised, depending on the report |
| Occupancy | Units or area physically occupied | Economic occupancy, meaning rent earned against potential rent |
| Vacancy | A unit with no resident today | Lost rent for the period, including notice and turn days |
| Deposit | Money to return at move-out | A liability on the balance sheet until refunded or applied |
| Turn | Work between residents | Make-ready costs and vacancy loss for the unit |
| Recovery | A charge billed to tenants | Recovery income set against recoverable expense pools |
Use cases
Which leasing terms should new team members learn first?
New leasing and property team members should learn five lease terms first, because each one changes billing, dates or obligations and each causes errors when misunderstood. These definitions apply to residential and commercial leases, with local variations noted on the relevant market and law pages of this site.
Guarantor
A third party who agrees to pay if the tenant does not, common for students and first-time renters.
Holdover
A tenant staying after the lease ends without a renewal, often at a higher rent set by the lease or by law.
Renewal option
A tenant's right, usually in commercial leases, to extend on agreed terms if notice is given by a set date.
Break clause
A right for the landlord, tenant or both to end a lease early at set dates, usually with notice and conditions.
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How do property terms differ between the US, UK, Australia, Singapore and the UAE?
Property terms differ between the US, UK, Australia, Singapore and the UAE even when the concept is the same. A US security deposit is an Australian bond, US CAM is a UK service charge, and an American rent roll is often a British tenancy schedule. Knowing the local term helps teams read leases, laws and reports correctly.
| Concept | United States | United Kingdom | Australia | Singapore and UAE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shared operating costs billed to tenants | CAM | Service charge | Outgoings | Service charge |
| Money held against damage or arrears | Security deposit | Tenancy deposit | Bond | Security deposit |
| Average remaining lease term | WALT | WAULT | WALE | WALE or WALT |
| Ending a tenancy through the courts | Eviction | Possession proceedings | Termination and possession orders | Termination under contract or tenancy law |
| List of tenants and terms | Rent roll | Tenancy schedule | Tenancy schedule | Tenancy schedule or rent roll |
| Firm running properties for an owner | Property manager | Managing agent | Property manager or agent | Property manager or managing agent |
How it works
How do you calculate WALT for a property?
You calculate WALT for a property by multiplying each lease's remaining term by its annual rent, adding the results, and dividing by total annual rent. The result is the average remaining lease term weighted by income, so larger leases count for more. Some analysts weight by leased area instead of rent.
- 01
List in-place leases
For example, Lease A: $300,000 a year with 6 years left; Lease B: $100,000 a year with 2 years left.
- 02
Multiply term by rent
Lease A gives 1,800,000; Lease B gives 200,000.
- 03
Add the results
1,800,000 plus 200,000 equals 2,000,000.
- 04
Divide by total rent
2,000,000 divided by $400,000 equals 5.0 years.
- 05
State the basis
Note whether WALT is weighted by rent or area and measured to expiry or to the first break date.
Compare
Which accounting terms explain how rent reaches the ledger?
Six accounting terms explain how rent reaches the ledger: accounts receivable, prepaid rent, deposit liability, contra revenue, bad debt and the sub-ledger. Together they describe what happens between a lease being signed and a property P&L being reported, and they are the terms auditors use when they test rent revenue.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Accounts receivable | Amounts billed to tenants and not yet paid |
| Prepaid rent | Rent received before it is due, held as a liability until the period arrives |
| Deposit liability | Deposits held for tenants, owed back unless applied to charges |
| Contra revenue | Accounts that reduce income, such as concessions and discounts |
| Bad debt | Receivables written off as uncollectable, or an allowance for them |
| Sub-ledger | Detailed tenant records kept outside the general ledger and summarised into it; RIOO does not need one because tenant transactions are NetSuite transactions |
In detail
Which RIOO records match common glossary terms?
Common glossary terms match specific RIOO and NetSuite records, which is useful when a report needs to be traced to its source. The list below links the most-searched terms in this glossary to the record that holds the data in RIOO, so analysts know where to build a saved search.
Rent roll
Leases and units in RIOO, with balances from NetSuite customer records.
01
Tenant ledger
NetSuite invoices, payments and credits for the tenant. See tenant ledger.
02
Security deposit
Deposit transactions against the tenant, posted to a liability account.
03
CAM or service charge
Recoverable expense pools and recovery invoices. See CAM reconciliation.
04
Straight-line rent
Lease-based schedules adjusting accrued rent. See straight-line rent.
05
Unit turn
Turn tasks and work orders on the unit record.
06
Who is the RIOO glossary NOT for?
The RIOO glossary is not a legal dictionary or an accounting standard. Definitions are written in plain language for operators, controllers and analysts, and they summarise common usage rather than the exact wording of any statute, lease or standard. When a definition affects a legal notice or an audit position, check the source law, lease or standard directly.
The glossary also favours terms used in RIOO's focus markets. Local practice can differ within a country, for example between US states or Australian states, so confirm local meanings with your advisers.
Talk to a specialist
See glossary on your own portfolio.
Each definition is short and plain; linked entries go deeper.
What is the difference between CAM and a service charge?
CAM and service charge describe the same idea: recoverable costs of running shared parts of a property, billed to occupiers under their leases and reconciled against actual costs. CAM is the common US term for commercial leases, while service charge is used in the UK, the UAE, Singapore and elsewhere, for commercial and residential leasehold property.
What is the difference between physical and economic occupancy?
Physical occupancy is the share of units or area occupied by tenants on a given date. Economic occupancy is the share of potential rent actually earned or collected, after vacancy, concessions and bad debt. A property can be 96% physically occupied but collect only 89% of potential rent, so both measures matter.
What does NNN mean in a lease?
NNN, or triple net, means the tenant pays base rent plus its share of the property's three main operating costs: property taxes, insurance and maintenance. Triple-net leases are common for retail and industrial property, and they shift most operating cost risk from the landlord to the tenant, usually with an annual reconciliation.
What is WALT in real estate?
WALT is the weighted average lease term: the average remaining term of a property's leases, weighted by rent or by leased area. Lenders and investors use it to judge how secure a property's income is. It is called WALE in Australia and WAULT in the UK, and some analysts measure it to break dates.
How can I suggest a term for the glossary?
Send the term, where you encountered it and the market it relates to through the contact page. New glossary entries are added regularly based on questions from property teams, with priority given to terms that cause confusion between operations and finance or that differ between the US, UK, Australia, Singapore and the UAE.
Where can I find longer explanations of glossary terms?
Longer explanations of glossary terms are on the linked pages: the tenant ledger entry, the CAM reconciliation guide, the straight-line rent page and its calculator, and the lease accounting guide. Market and law pages explain local terms such as bonds, service charges and Ejari in the context of each country's rules.
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