Lease administration can be full of landmines. A small misstep—like forwarding the wrong invoice—can trigger massive financial consequences. In this case, it led to a $100,000 overpayment that took months to unwind.
This really happened. The details are anonymized, but the takeaway is all too real.
The Setup: A Simple Invoice
It was a routine month. Rent was due, and a regional team member received an invoice from the landlord. Without a second thought, they sent it to accounts payable.
What no one realized? The rent had already been paid automatically. The second invoice triggered a second payment. Just like that, an extra $100,000 was out the door.
The Fallout
Refunding the money wasn’t quick or easy. It took weeks of chasing, coordination, and cross-team communication. And when the lease administrator started digging deeper into the landlord’s billing history, they found more issues:
- Utility amounts that did not match backup
- Work orders billed to the wrong tenant
- Operating expenses misaligned with lease terms
These weren’t just flukes—they were symptoms of a broken process.
What Went Wrong
The problem wasn’t effort—it was structure.
- Rent payments were handled by different teams in different regions
- No one person or team had complete visibility
- Lease terms weren’t being referenced before payments were made
- There was no consistent process for flagging anomalies
Without centralized oversight, errors were nearly impossible to catch in time.
Turning It Around
After the $100,000 misstep, the company made major changes:
- Built a centralized rent payment process
- Added approval cycles before funds were released
- Routed landlord communication to a single, trackable inbox
- Reviewed every variable charge against the lease before approval
They also implemented consistent tracking of historical reconciliations—making it easier to spot year-over-year discrepancies or red flags.
What to Take Away
Rent is often one of the largest recurring costs a company carries. Yet too many organizations treat it like just another line item—until something goes wrong.
“We’re centralized now. It’s better. But I’ll never forget that $100,000 mistake.”
— Anonymous Real Estate Manager
Ask Yourself
- Do we have a clear, repeatable rent payment process?
- Are payments reviewed by someone with lease expertise?
- Can we easily track what we’ve paid—and why?
- Who’s responsible for spotting errors before they cost us?
If you’re not confident in your answers, it’s time to tighten things up.
This is Episode 1 of the Lease Administration Nightmares series.
Coming soon: The Expiration That Nobody Saw — when a missed date triggered unexpected penalties and a very unhappy tenant.
Need help getting ahead of rent payment risk?
Let’s talk about centralizing your lease admin process for clarity, control, and peace of mind.
#LeaseAdminNightmares | Real Mistakes. Real Lessons. Real Results.
