A rent roll is a summary of the leases. Someone typed it, or a property system exported it, and it can drift from the signed documents without any total looking wrong. Before you underwrite from it, compare it with the leases and amendments in six places.
The six mismatches
| # | What to compare | Where it hides |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Premises area | Roll square footage against the lease premises clause |
| 2 | Current rent and rent steps | Roll rent against the lease schedule and amendments |
| 3 | Commencement and expiration | Roll dates against the term sentence and any extension |
| 4 | Renewal and termination options | Roll comment against the option clauses |
| 5 | A lease with no row on the roll | Executed leases for suites the roll shows vacant or under another name |
| 6 | A row with no lease | Roll tenants with nothing behind them in the data room |
1. Premises area. The roll shows the area the landlord bills on. The lease states the premises. After a remeasurement, expansion or give-back the two differ, and area drives rent per square foot and the tenant's share of expenses.
2. Current rent and rent steps. Many rolls show only today's rent. The lease carries the schedule, and an amendment may have changed it.
3. Commencement and expiration. Expiration feeds weighted average lease term and the rollover schedule. If an amendment extended a term and the roll was never updated, rollover looks nearer than it is.
4. Options. Roll comments summarize options in a few words. Count them against the clauses: how many, for how long, at what rent, and whether the tenant holds an early termination right the roll omits.
5. A lease with no row. An executed lease for a suite the roll lists as vacant, or under another name, means one document is stale.
6. A row with no lease. A tenant with no lease in the data room may be on an expired lease, a holdover, a letter of intent, or a lease nobody uploaded.
A worked example
The example is synthetic. It shows how a small difference carries through, not a result from a client file.
Suite 200 on the roll: 4,200 SF at $28.00 per SF, or $117,600 a year. The lease premises clause says 3,900 SF.
- 3,900 SF × $28.00 = $109,200 a year.
- $117,600 − $109,200 = $8,400 a year the lease does not support.
- $8,400 ÷ a 7% cap rate = $120,000 of value, if the full gap reaches NOI. The 7% is an assumption, not a market figure.
Rent steps work the same way. If the roll shows a monthly rent of $9,500 and the lease steps up 3% in year four, the new monthly rent is $9,785. That is $285 more each month, or $3,420 more each year, than the roll shows.
How the comparison runs
- Read the roll into tenant rows: suite, names, area, lease periods, rent and option comments.
- Match each lease and amendment to one row, by tenant name or suite. If two rows fit equally well, leave the lease unmatched instead of guessing.
- Compare area, rent, term and options. Record each difference with the lease page and the roll cell.
- List the leases with no row and the rows with no lease.
This page describes the method. You can run it by hand.
What this does not replace
- An estoppel certificate, where the tenant confirms the terms.
- Counsel's review of the leases, where a contested clause is decided.
- A site visit or a physical measurement of the premises.
It also cannot see an unwritten side agreement or a lease that was never uploaded. If a difference is marked, the next step is a question to the broker or seller with the lease page and roll cell in hand. Request a demo to send one deal's rent roll and leases.
Questions
What should I check a rent roll against?
The executed leases and their amendments: area, current rent and steps, term dates and options. Then list the leases with no row and the rows with no lease.
Why does my rent roll not match the leases?
A rent roll is usually typed or exported, not read from the signed documents. It can lag an amendment, carry a rounded area, show only current rent, or omit an option. The leases control.
How do I reconcile a rent roll to leases?
Match each lease to one tenant row, compare the same four fields on both sides, and record each difference with the lease page and roll cell. Then list every unmatched lease and row.
Does a clean rent roll mean the leases agree with it?
No. A roll can add up and still disagree with the signed leases, so the comparison has to be made lease by lease.
Does Titleman compare leases to the rent roll?
Titleman's deal review reads the rent roll, leases, OM, T-12 and model together and checks figures stated in more than one place. Ask for a demo to see how it treats your documents.