Key takeaways
- The earliest tenant, cleaning crew or delivery sets the clear-by time for the whole building, not the 9 a.m. majority.
- In a gross lease the landlord pays for snow; in a net lease tenants pay a share through CAM charges, usually outside any cap on controllable costs.
- The landlord and public-facing tenants are both covered by the ADA (28 CFR 36.201), so the lease should say who clears what.
- Plan a late-afternoon refreeze check: the walk out at 6 p.m. is often icier than the walk in at 8 a.m.
On this page
- What makes an office building different?
- Who pays for snow removal under an office lease?
- What gets cleared first, and by when?
- Entrances, lobbies and the vestibule
- Garages, docks and the people who leave after dark
- How should the property manager and the contractor communicate?
- Records and contract questions
What makes an office building different?
An office lot is nearly empty overnight, so a crew can plow it edge to edge before anyone arrives. On paper that makes an office one of the simpler commercial snow removal jobs. One building might house a billing office that starts at 7, an engineering firm at 8, a law office at 9 and a cleaning crew that works after everyone leaves. The property manager is the client, but every tenant expects the lot ready at its own start time.
Hybrid schedules matter too. A lot that is full on Tuesday may be half empty at 10 a.m. on Friday, which is the time to clear stalls that were buried at dawn.
Who pays for snow removal under an office lease?
The lease decides. Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute describes the basic split: under a gross lease the landlord pays operating expenses and the tenant pays one all-inclusive rent, while under a net lease the tenant pays base rent plus some or all of those costs, including common area maintenance (CAM) in a triple net lease.
| Lease type | Who pays for snow | Who absorbs a heavy winter |
|---|---|---|
| Gross | The landlord, out of the rent | The landlord |
| Fixed CAM fee, sometimes called modified gross | Tenants, through a set fee with preset increases | The landlord, above the fee |
| Net, with CAM passed through | Each tenant, a pro rata share of actual costs | The tenants, at the year-end reconciliation |
Cornell notes that triple net leases are most common where one tenant leases a whole building; that tenant should check whether the lease makes it hire the snow contractor itself.
The law firm Amundsen Davis notes that tenants often negotiate caps on increases in controllable CAM costs, commonly 3 to 5 percent a year, but that those caps exclude snow removal, along with utilities, taxes and insurance. A heavy winter passes through in full. This is general information, not legal advice; the lease controls.
What gets cleared first, and by when?
| Priority | Area | Clear by |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accessible spaces, access aisles, curb ramps and the route to the main entrance | The earliest arrival |
| 2 | Main entrance walk, landing and vestibule doors, treated | The earliest arrival |
| 3 | Garage entrance and exit ramps | The earliest arrival |
| 4 | Fire lanes and main drive aisles | The earliest arrival |
| 5 | Visitor and reserved spaces near the doors | The first meetings |
| 6 | Employee parking rows | The main start time |
| 7 | Loading dock, mail room door and dumpster | The first delivery or pickup |
| 8 | Walks, ramps and entrances, rechecked | Late afternoon, before people leave |
The earliest arrival might be a tenant, a cleaning crew or a delivery. Collect all three every fall.
Accessible features come first because federal rules require businesses open to the public to keep them working, allowing only temporary interruptions (28 CFR 36.211). The ADA's list of public accommodations includes lawyers' and accountants' offices, insurance offices and health care providers' offices (28 CFR 36.104), and 28 CFR 36.201 makes both the landlord and those tenants responsible while letting the lease divide the duties. See ADA and snow.
Entrances, lobbies and the vestibule
Every boot that crosses the lot ends up on the lobby floor. The snow contractor owns the walk outside, the janitorial contractor owns the floor inside, and the vestibule between them often belongs to nobody. Assign it: who puts down extra mats on storm mornings, who mops the vestibule before 9, and who calls when the landing starts to glaze. Treat the landing right to the threshold so automatic doors are not fighting packed snow. For floor care and mat lengths, see salt stains on floors.
Garages, docks and the people who leave after dark
Garages. Ramps are steep, shaded and the first place a car slides. Clear and treat them before the earliest arrival, agree in writing whether the top deck is plowed, and stake gate arms and card reader pedestals. See parking garages.
Docks. Mail, package and catering trucks need the dock approach, the door and a path for a hand truck.
After hours. Cleaning crews and late workers leave after dark, when the day's meltwater has crossed the walks and started to freeze, so schedule a late-afternoon check on thaw days. Employees count too: OSHA's walking-working surfaces rule requires employers to keep walking surfaces free of hazards including snow and ice (29 CFR 1910.22), and Michigan adopts it through MIOSHA (R 408.10202).
Stake curbs and islands, light pole bases, parking blocks, entrance bollards, sign posts, speed bumps and the landscape lights along the entrance walk. Never stack in accessible spaces and aisles, fire lanes, hydrants, entrance walks, garage ramps, the dock approach or the sight lines at the driveways.
How should the property manager and the contractor communicate?
- One contact on each side, with a cell number that answers during storms.
- A start-time list covering tenants, cleaning crews, weekend users and deliveries, updated every fall.
- The storm-start notice goes to the manager, who forwards it to tenants. Tenants report problems to the manager, not the plow driver.
- Skips with reasons. A locked garage gate or a car in the fire lane should produce a message, not silence.
Records and contract questions
Keep the contractor's timestamped visit records with the manager's own walk-throughs and any tenant incident reports. See snow logs. Before signing, ask these, and see the commercial contract checklist for more:
- Which tenant, crew or delivery sets the clear-by time?
- Are garage ramps, the top deck, the dock and the dumpster in the scope?
- Is there a late-afternoon refreeze check, and what triggers it?
- Who owns the vestibule and the mats on storm days?
- Are invoices itemized by building and event, so costs can be passed through and reconciled?
Sources
- Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute: net lease — net, triple net and gross leases compared
- Amundsen Davis: CAM reconciliation, landlord considerations for common area maintenance fee provisions (2017) — caps on controllable expenses exclude snow removal
- 28 CFR 36.201, landlord and tenant responsibilities (eCFR)
- 28 CFR 36.211, maintenance of accessible features (eCFR)
- OSHA 29 CFR 1910.22, walking-working surfaces: general requirements — surfaces kept free of hazards, including snow and ice
Written by the Macomb Lawn & Snow Solutions team in Macomb Township, Michigan. We plow and salt homes and businesses across all 26 Macomb County communities, November 15 to April 15. Published October 5, 2026. About us · How we research these guides · How our dispatch works