Commercial Rent Concession Tracking: A Landlord Checklist

Commercial landlord desk with a lease folder, tenant ledger adjustment, calendar, and approval checklist.

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Commercial Rent Concession Tracking: A Landlord Checklist

A rent concession can look simple in an email: waive part of a month, apply a credit, or give a tenant more time after an unexpected disruption. The operating problem begins when that agreement is not carried all the way through the file, the tenant ledger, and the close.

A vague note such as “give them a break this month” can leave a property manager asking later: Was the amount base rent or additional rent? Was it a one-time credit or a recurring change? Who approved it? What lease clause or written amendment supports it? Did the credit actually post as intended?

This checklist is for post-execution concessions—an approved waiver, abatement, credit, or other adjustment made after the lease is in place. It is not a guide to negotiating free rent before signing a lease, determining the original rent commencement date, or collecting an unpaid balance. The executed lease, amendments, and written approval control. Where the documents are unclear, pause and have qualified legal or accounting advisers review the question.

First, separate a concession from three similar workflows

Before anyone edits a bill or tenant ledger, classify the event.

Initial free rent or tenant-improvement economics: These are negotiated lease terms and should be captured during lease abstraction and initial billing setup.
Rent commencement: This concerns when rent begins under the lease and may depend on possession, delivery, conditions, or other lease-specific events.
Collections: This is the follow-up process for amounts that are due and unpaid.
Post-execution concession or credit: This is a later, approved adjustment to an amount otherwise billed or billable.

The distinction matters because each workflow has different source documents, approval paths, billing effects, and deadlines. Do not use a post-execution credit to quietly correct an unresolved commencement question or to erase a collection issue without a documented decision.

The commercial rent concession tracking checklist

1. Open one concession record before changing the ledger

Create a single record for the request. Give it an internal ID and link it to the property, suite, tenant legal entity, lease, and affected billing period.

Capture the basics:

date requested and person requesting it;
reason stated for the request;
concession type: waiver, abatement, credit, deferral, or another clearly defined category;
amount or calculation method;
affected charge type, such as base rent, CAM, tax, insurance, utilities, late fees, or another item;
effective period; and
current status: requested, under review, approved, declined, posted, reconciled, or closed.

Do not make the record a substitute for the tenant’s agreement or the owner’s approval. It is the operating file that keeps those documents connected to the actual accounting entry.

2. Gather the controlling documents

Attach or link the executed lease, every relevant amendment, written approval, tenant correspondence, and the affected invoice or ledger detail. If the request follows a property event, add the supporting incident or repair record too.

Review points may include whether the agreement addresses abatements, service interruptions, casualty, access, notices, waiver authority, additional rent, late fees, interest, and timing. Those provisions vary. If the document set does not clearly support the proposed treatment, escalate it instead of filling the gap with a generic rule.

3. Define exactly what is being adjusted

“Two weeks of rent” is not precise enough to post. Write the adjustment in terms a reviewer can verify:

which invoice line or billing period changes;
whether the amount is fixed or calculated;
whether it applies to base rent, additional rent, or both;
whether taxes, CAM, insurance, utilities, fees, or other charges are included or excluded;
whether the adjustment is a permanent waiver, a temporary deferral, or a credit to be used against a future charge; and
whether it has a start date, end date, usage condition, or expiration.

For NNN leases, resist the shortcut of treating all monthly charges alike. A concession involving base rent does not automatically answer how other lease charges should be handled.

4. Route the decision to the right approver

Use a documented approval path that fits the ownership and management structure. The approver should see the proposed treatment, amount, lease documents, tenant history needed for the decision, and the financial period affected.

Record the decision in writing, including the approved amount, scope, effective dates, and any conditions. If a third party prepares the ledger entry, give them the final approved instruction—not an informal summary of a conversation.

5. Preserve the original charge and post a traceable adjustment

Avoid overwriting history where the accounting process allows a separate, traceable entry. Tie the credit, waiver, or adjustment to the original charge, approval record, and effective period so a reviewer can answer two questions quickly: what was originally due, and why did the balance change?

Use a consistent description that identifies the concession record or approval reference. Keep the posting date separate from the economic effective date when they differ, and document both.

6. Send a clear tenant-facing confirmation

Confirm the decision in writing through the appropriate communication channel. The message should match the approved record and state the amount, affected period, treatment of other charges, and any remaining balance or future billing impact.

Do not let a friendly accommodation email become the only evidence of a ledger change. Save the final communication in the concession record.

7. Check the next bill before it goes out

A concession can be correctly approved and still be billed incorrectly. Before issuing the next invoice, compare the ledger to the approved instruction:

does the adjustment appear once, in the correct period?
are excluded charges still billed as intended?
did a recurring schedule change when only a one-time credit was approved?
does the invoice description match the tenant communication?
is any remaining balance clear?

This is the checkpoint that catches accidental double credits, missing credits, and credits applied to the wrong charge category.

8. Reconcile the concession at month-end

Include open and recently posted concessions in the monthly close review. Compare the concession register with the tenant ledger, invoices, approvals, and any general-ledger treatment used by the business.

Investigate records that are approved but unposted, posted without final approval, still open after their effective period, or inconsistent with the tenant-facing notice. Track deferred amounts separately from forgiven amounts so they do not disappear from the follow-up list.

9. Retain an audit-ready packet

For every closed concession, retain a complete packet:

original request and relevant correspondence;
lease and amendment references reviewed;
written approval and conditions;
calculation support;
original charge and adjustment entries;
tenant confirmation; and
reconciliation evidence showing the item was reviewed and closed.

A future asset manager, accountant, lender reviewer, or new property manager should be able to follow the decision without reconstructing it from inboxes.

A simple concession register to maintain

A spreadsheet can work for a small portfolio if it is kept current and tied to source documents. The same fields belong in property-management software if that is where your team works.

At a minimum, maintain columns for the concession ID, property, suite, tenant, lease reference, request date, request reason, charge type, amount, effective period, approval date, approver, posting date, invoice or ledger reference, remaining balance, status, and document links.

The goal is not more paperwork. It is a reliable bridge between the decision, the lease file, the tenant ledger, and the close.

Put the workflow on a calendar

Concessions become difficult to audit when they are reviewed only when a tenant calls. Add recurring checkpoints:

review new requests before changes are made;
review approved items before the next billing run;
reconcile open and posted items during month-end close; and
review expired, deferred, or unusual concessions with ownership on a regular schedule.

A short, consistent review is usually easier than recovering the facts six months later.

The takeaway

A concession is not just a smaller rent number. It is a lease-administration decision with a billing and recordkeeping consequence. Treat it that way: classify it correctly, document the authority, post it transparently, verify the next bill, and close the record with support.

See how PigJet helps commercial landlords keep lease details and tenant billing organized.