Rental Revenues. Non-same store revenues increased by $0.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 as compared to the previous quarter, as a result of rental rate growth and leasing activity. Same store rental revenues increased by $1.9 million, or 1.7%, for the three months ended March 31, 2023 as compared to the previous quarter, primarily due to an increase in rental rates and recovery revenue, partially offset by a small decrease in average occupancy of same store properties.
Non-same store revenues increased by $24.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022, primarily due to the addition of 50 industrial buildings that we have acquired since January 1, 2022, as well as six value-add properties that were acquired during 2021 and stabilized during 2022. Same store rental revenues increased by $5.8 million, or 7.4%, for the three months ended March 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022, primarily due to increases in rental rates and average occupancy of same store properties, as well an increase in recovery revenue.
Rental Expenses. Non-same store rental expenses increased by $0.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023, as compared to the previous quarter, as a result of leasing activity. Same store rental expenses increased $1.4 million, or 5.6%, for the three months ended March 31, 2023 as compared to the previous quarter, due to an increase in property taxes associated with certain of our properties, partially offset by decreases in certain repair and maintenance expenses.
Non-same store rental expenses increased by $5.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022, primarily due to the growth of our portfolio, as described above. Same store rental expenses increased by $1.5 million, or 7.8%, for the three months ended March 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022, primarily due to an increase in property taxes associated with certain of our properties, as well as increases in certain repair and maintenance expenses.
Operating Expense Limitation
Generally, we are prohibited by our charter from incurring total operating expenses which, at the end of the four preceding fiscal quarters exceeds the greater of: (i) 2.0% of our average invested assets, or (ii) 25.0% of our net income determined without reduction for any additions to reserves for depreciation, bad debts or other similar non-cash reserves and excluding any gain from the sale of our assets for that period (the “2%/25% Limitation”). For these purposes, total operating expenses exclude rental expenses, real estate-related depreciation and amortization expense, interest expense, acquisition expenses, taxes and impairments. Our charter requires that we calculate the figures used in determining whether operating expenses have exceeded the 2%/25% Limitation in accordance with GAAP applied on a consistent basis. Notwithstanding the above, we may incur total operating expenses in excess of this limitation if a majority of our independent directors determines that such excess expenses are justified based on unusual and non-recurring factors. Our total operating expenses exceeded the 2%/25% Limitation as of the four fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2023. All of our independent directors determined that the excess expenses were justified based upon a review of unusual and non-recurring factors, including but not limited to: the performance of our portfolio driven by continued demand in the industrial property sector and the resulting growth in our NAV, specifically during the second and third quarters of 2022, and total return generated for the period which drove the increase in our performance participation allocation. Other factors considered include our strong capital raise and the timing of our deployment during the period, and the acquisition of 41 industrial properties since April 1, 2022. The calculation of the performance participation allocation is based in part on our calculation of NAV, which takes into account any increases or decreases in the fair market value of our investments in real estate, meaning that generally, as NAV increases and the corresponding total return generated for stockholders increases, the performance participation allocation increases. However, as noted above, unlike our NAV and the performance participation allocation, the 2%/25% Limitation is calculated in accordance with GAAP and the calculation of net income for purposes of the limitation does not take into account the significant fair market value gains generated by our investments in real estate for the period, resulting in an incongruous comparison between total operating expenses and the 2%/25% Limitation.
ADDITIONAL MEASURES OF PERFORMANCE
Funds From Operations (“FFO”) and Adjusted Funds From Operations (“AFFO”)
We believe that FFO and AFFO, in addition to net income (loss) and cash flows from operating activities as defined by GAAP, are useful supplemental performance measures that our management uses to evaluate our consolidated operating performance. However, these supplemental, non-GAAP measures should not be considered as alternatives to net income (loss) or to cash flows from operating activities as indications of our performance and are not intended to be used as liquidity measures indicative of cash flow available to fund our cash needs, including our ability to make distributions to our stockholders. No single measure can provide users of financial information with sufficient information and only our disclosures read as a whole can be relied upon to adequately portray our financial position, liquidity, and results of operations. In addition, other REITs may define FFO, AFFO, and similar measures differently and choose to treat certain accounting line items in a manner different from us due to specific differences in investment and operating strategy or for other reasons.