A lease term that automatically raises rent or costs over time.
An escalation clause increases what you pay on a schedule — a fixed percentage each year, a tie to an index like CPI, or a pass-through of rising operating costs. In commercial leases it is where much of the true cost lives.
“Base rent shall increase 3% annually on each anniversary of the commencement date.”
Paste your lease into Main AI and it points to exactly where a term like this appears and what it means for you as a tenant.
Analyze my document free →Read how the increase is calculated and whether it compounds. A CPI-tied escalation can spike; an operating-cost pass-through (common-area maintenance, taxes, insurance) can be open-ended unless capped. Ask for a cap on annual increases and audit rights on any pass-through.
See this in your own document: run a free analysis — findings quote the exact language.
“Tenant shall pay its proportionate share of increases in operating expenses over the base year.”
“Proportionate share of increases” with no cap is the line to negotiate — it can quietly outgrow the base rent itself over a multi-year term.