Tenant Turnover Cost Calculator

How to use this calculator

1. Monthly rent ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $1,850.
2. Days empty between tenants. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 28.
3. Days of that spent on make ready. Counted inside the vacant days, not added to them.
4. Cleaning ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $350.
5. Paint and patching ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $700.
6. Flooring repair or replacement ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $400.

The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to what the turnover costs you, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.

A worked example

These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.

This turnover costs $4,590, which is 2.5 months of rent. $1,702 of it is simply the empty days. Keeping the tenant would have been worth a reduction of up to $474.97 a month, or 25.7% of rent, for a year.

How sensitive the answer is

Holding everything else steady and changing only monthly rent, this is what happens to what the turnover costs you. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.

Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.

What each figure means

Monthly rent ($)

A money amount, between 0 and 100000, starting at $1,850.

Days empty between tenants

A number, between 0 and 730, starting at 28.

Days of that spent on make ready

Counted inside the vacant days, not added to them.

Cleaning ($)

A money amount, between 0 and 20000, starting at $350.

Paint and patching ($)

A money amount, between 0 and 50000, starting at $700.

Flooring repair or replacement ($)

A money amount, between 0 and 50000, starting at $400.

Repairs and appliance work ($)

A money amount, between 0 and 50000, starting at $450.

Advertising and photography ($)

A money amount, between 0 and 5000, starting at $150.

Leasing fee (%)

As a share of one month's rent.

Screening and admin ($)

A money amount, between 0 and 2000, starting at $80.

Utilities while vacant, per month ($)

A money amount, between 0 and 5000, starting at $120.

Deposit you can apply ($)

A money amount, between 0 and 100000, starting at $1,850.

Share of the deposit you can actually retain (%)

Ordinary wear cannot be charged to a tenant. Only genuine damage beyond it can.

Increase you were going to ask for (%)

A percentage, between 0 and 50, starting at 5%.

What the results tell you

What is not in this number

Property figures here exclude the costs that decide whether a deal works: vacancy, maintenance, management, capital expenditure and the transaction costs at both ends. A return that looks strong before those frequently does not survive them.