Gross vs Net Apartment Leases / Tax Escalator Clauses (Denver: rental market, house)

[2go2co]

The next chapter in my move to Denver begins. After a successful apartment hunting trip, I've locked in a unit being held for me through mid-October just west of City Park around 20th.

In looking at the (28 page!) lease, I'm finding some interesting terms. Are net residential leases common in Denver/Colorado?

My lease includes language that indicates I will pay my proportionate share of property taxes assessed on the property, something that is fairly uncommon for residential leases in my current area. Here, generally the landlord pays property taxes (at least for your general apartment lease; I can't say for commercial leases).

I also note the tax escalator clause does not explicitly state a percentage for which I am responsible (required by law for the clause to be valid in some states), nor any limit restricting the amount by which those taxes may be increased in a given period (I'm guessing Denver taxes are going up?), nor does it include any language addressing whether any tax refund to the owner would result in a proportionate reduction/refund to me as the tenant.

I'm not looking for legal advice; I have some trusted colleagues reviewing the lease as well, but was just curious for some locals' perspective.

[Pesare]

It is pretty uncommon to have the landlord have you pay a share of the property taxes. Usually, the property tax and any HOAs on the house or unit are paid by the landlord and the rent should be high enough to cover these items.
Of course, right now with the hot rental market in Denver landlords may be able to get away with doing this now.