Vacancy Impact Calculator

Vacancy impact calculator for rental income planning

Vacancy is one of the fastest ways a good-looking rental deal turns into a mediocre one. Most landlords think in monthly rent, but vacancy happens in days. A few empty weeks can wipe out a meaningful portion of your annual income, and it usually arrives together with extra costs like cleaning, advertising, minor repairs, or utilities you cannot fully switch off.

This vacancy impact calculator is built for one decision: estimating how much income you lose from expected empty days, and what rent would be required during occupied time to recover that loss. It is not a tenant screening tool and it does not model loan payments or long-term appreciation. It focuses purely on vacancy-related income loss, plus two common cost add-ons that often get ignored.

To use it, enter the monthly rent you would charge if the property was fully occupied all year. Then enter your expected vacant days per year. If you have holding costs that only apply while the unit is empty, such as utilities, security, garden services, or municipal charges you keep running, add a monthly estimate. Finally, add a one-time turnover cost if you typically spend money each time a tenant leaves. The result shows the annual vacancy loss, your expected collected rent, the effective occupancy rate, and the break-even occupied rent needed to match your full-occupancy income target.

Assumptions and how to use this calculator

• Vacancy is spread across the year as a simple fraction of days vacant. It does not simulate specific move-out dates or seasonality.
• Monthly rent is treated as stable for the year. Mid-year increases or rent-free incentives are not included.
• Holding costs are applied only to the vacancy portion of the year, based on your monthly estimate and the vacancy fraction.
• Turnover cost is treated as one vacancy event per year. If you expect multiple turnovers, increase the turnover cost to reflect your expected annual total.
• The break-even rent calculation assumes you can charge a higher rent during occupied time without changing vacancy. In reality, higher rent can increase vacancy, so treat it as a planning benchmark.

Common questions

What does “break-even occupied rent” mean here?

It is the monthly rent you would need during the occupied portion of the year to earn the same annual gross rent you would have earned with zero vacancy. It is a target, not a promise. If the break-even rent is far above market, the practical answer is usually to reduce vacancy, not to push rent.

Should I use vacant days or vacancy percentage?

Vacant days is usually easier to estimate from your own history. If you think in percentage, convert it by multiplying 365 by your expected vacancy rate. For example, a 5% vacancy rate is about 18 days per year (365 × 0.05 = 18.25).

What if my vacancy is zero most years but sometimes I lose a month?

Use an average over several years. If you lose one month every three years, that is roughly 10 vacant days per year on average (30 ÷ 3). This keeps planning realistic and prevents one bad year from distorting your expectations.

Do holding costs during vacancy include my bond payment or mortgage?

No. This calculator is intentionally limited to vacancy-related income and vacancy-specific expenses. Mortgage payments, rates, insurance premiums, and long-term maintenance should be handled in separate cash flow or NOI calculations. If you want to reflect cash pressure during vacancy, you can include only the extra costs that truly exist because the unit is empty.

How do I reduce vacancy without cutting rent?

Focus on controllables: listing quality, response speed, showing availability, tenant experience, proactive maintenance, and renewal discussions early. Small operational improvements often beat rent cuts. If your vacancy is structurally high for the area, the problem may be property positioning or tenant fit, not price.