Reviewed by Casa Academy and updated July 29, 2026 using the current DBPR checklist and Pearson VUE scheduling guidance.
Net Lease
A net lease is a commercial lease where the tenant pays base rent plus some or all property operating expenses such as taxes, insurance, and maintenance, shifting cost responsibility from the landlord to the tenant according to whether the lease is single, double, or triple net.
Exam context
Net lease tenant pays operating costs beyond base rent. Gross lease landlord pays most expenses. Triple net adds taxes, insurance, maintenance. Modified gross splits costs between parties.
Net lease types
Single-net leases pass property taxes to the tenant. Double-net adds insurance premiums. Triple-net (NNN) requires the tenant to pay taxes, insurance, and common area or structural maintenance, common in freestanding retail and investment sales. Absolute net leases may include roof and structural replacement. Landlords receive predictable net income while tenants control operating costs directly.
Investment and brokerage use
Investors price net-leased properties on cap rates applied to landlord net income after tenant reimbursements. Agents compare effective occupancy cost by modeling expense pass-throughs, not headline base rent alone. Lease escalations and renewal options affect long-term tenant liability and property value.
Examples
NNN retail pad
A national coffee tenant signs a 10-year NNN lease at $32 per square foot plus reimbursement of taxes, insurance, and CAM, giving the landlord near-passive income while the tenant manages operating bills.
Single-net office
An office tenant pays base rent plus its pro-rata share of property taxes while the landlord covers building insurance and janitorial in the suite.
Keep studying
Related terms
- Modified gross leaseCommercial lease splitting expenses between landlord and tenant.
- Percentage leaseRetail lease with rent tied to tenant sales.
Related resources
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Florida-specific explainers and question sets for this topic area.
Sources
- BOMA: lease types overview(Building Owners and Managers Association)