Outgoings

Outgoings are the running costs of a property, council rates, water rates, building insurance, owners-corporation (body corporate) levies, land tax, and maintenance, that, in a commercial lease, a tenant typically reimburses to the landlord on top of the base rent.

The term matters because it decides who really pays for what. Commercial leases are usually one of:

• Net lease: the tenant pays base rent plus the outgoings (or an agreed share of them). The landlord’s rent is “net” of running costs.
• Gross lease: the tenant pays a single rent and the landlord covers the outgoings out of it.

In a multi-tenant building, outgoings are apportioned (commonly by floor area), and the lease should list which outgoings are recoverable, cap or exclude some, and set out estimates with an end-of-year reconciliation against actuals. Retail-lease legislation in most states regulates outgoings disclosure for retail tenancies.

For a builder this comes up in two places: when you lease premises (a yard, a workshop, an office), the advertised rent may be only part of the cost, so confirm whether it is net or gross and what the outgoings add (they can be a large extra), and when you do fit-out or works for a commercial tenant or landlord, the lease’s outgoings and make-good provisions shape who pays for what. In a strata or community scheme, the owners-corporation levies are themselves an outgoing. Read the lease for which outgoings are recoverable before signing or pricing, because an unexpected outgoings bill is a common surprise on commercial space.

Also known as: Operating expenses, recoverable outgoings.

Category: Business / Leasing.

Related

• Owners corporation

See also

• Common property

References

• Owners corporation (Chalkline) (verified 2026-06-04)

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Last updated: 2026-06-04. Verified: 2026-06-04. Quarterly review for currency.