> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nyumbazetu.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Charge escalation

> Schedule rent and charge increases in advance, and see their effect before they take.

**Escalation schedules → `/charge-escalation`**

An **escalation schedule** raises a recurring charge over time according to a rule, instead of
someone remembering to edit every lease every year. Set it once at lease signing and the increases
happen on time, predictably, with a projection you can show a landlord.

## The three pages

| Page              | Route                            | Purpose                                                        |
| ----------------- | -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Overview**      | `/charge-escalation/overview`    | How many schedules exist, by shape, and how many are open.     |
| **All schedules** | `/charge-escalation/rules`       | The full list — browse, filter and open a schedule.            |
| **Projections**   | `/charge-escalation/projections` | What each schedule will do to charges over the coming periods. |

## Escalation shapes

| Shape                  | Behaviour                                                                                                |
| ---------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Fixed**              | The charge does not escalate. Explicitly recording "no escalation" is more useful than leaving it blank. |
| **Fixed for term**     | Held flat for the contract term.                                                                         |
| **Step (anniversary)** | Steps up on each anniversary of the lease start.                                                         |
| **Step (calendar)**    | Steps up on a fixed calendar date, regardless of when the lease started.                                 |
| **Percent annual**     | An annual percentage uplift.                                                                             |
| **CPI**                | Indexed to a published inflation figure.                                                                 |
| **Market review**      | Flags the charge for a manual review and re-set at the review date, rather than computing an increase.   |

<Note>
  Anniversary and calendar stepping produce noticeably different cash flows across a portfolio.
  Anniversary spreads increases through the year; calendar concentrates them, which is easier to
  communicate to owners but produces a single large billing jump.
</Note>

## Creating a schedule

<Steps>
  <Step title="Configure on a lease">
    Escalation is attached to the lease's charges, so start from the lease. **Configure on a lease**
    from the escalation module takes you there.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick the shape">
    Match the shape to what the lease agreement actually says. If the agreement says "5% per annum
    on each anniversary", that is *step (anniversary)*, not *percent annual on a calendar year*.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the parameters">
    Rate or index, the effective date, and any cap or floor your agreement specifies.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the charges it applies to">
    Usually rent. Service charges often escalate on a different basis, or not at all — check before
    applying one schedule to everything.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review the projection">
    Before saving, look at the projection. This is the number the tenant will see on their invoice,
    and the number the owner will ask about.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Projections

The projections page shows, per schedule and per charge, what the amount will be in each upcoming
period. Use it to:

* **Brief owners** on expected income before it happens.
* **Warn tenants** ahead of an increase, rather than after they receive the invoice.
* **Catch mistakes** — a schedule applied at 50% instead of 5% is obvious in a projection and
  invisible in a rule.
* **Budget** — projected escalations feed realistic revenue budgets. See
  [Budgets](/guides/budgets).

## How escalation reaches the invoice

An escalation changes the **recurring charge amount** from its effective date. The next generation
run bills the new amount. Already-issued invoices are never rewritten — an increase that should
have applied earlier is corrected with a [debit note](/guides/adjustments), not by back-dating the
schedule.

## Managing schedules over time

| Situation                     | Action                                                                                                                              |
| ----------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Lease renewed on new terms    | Close the old schedule and create one matching the new agreement.                                                                   |
| Increase waived for one cycle | Do not delete the schedule — record the waiver as a credit note in the affected period, so the schedule stays true to the contract. |
| Market review due             | The schedule flags it; set the new amount manually and record the review.                                                           |
| Tenant disputes the increase  | The projection and the schedule together show exactly what was agreed and applied.                                                  |

## Good practice

* Create the escalation schedule **at lease signing**, from the signed agreement, while the terms
  are in front of you.
* Never let "we'll adjust it manually each year" be the plan for more than a handful of leases — it
  is the single most common source of under-billing in a growing portfolio.
* Review the projections page once a quarter and reconcile it against the recurring charges that
  actually changed.