Investor Encyclopedia

Rent Roll

Rent Roll: a practical Canadian real estate investor guide to definition, deal math, underwriting use, common traps, and Realist.ca implementation.

Definition

A rent roll is the unit-by-unit schedule of tenants, rents, lease dates, deposits, arrears, and rentability.

Formula

Gross scheduled rent = sum(unit rent). Loss to lease = market rent - in-place rent. Occupancy = occupied units / total units.

Example

In underwriting, tag rent roll beside the exact source input and rerun the model when that input changes. The point is not a pretty metric; it is a better buy, hold, refinance, or walk decision.

Why It Matters

rent roll changes what a disciplined buyer can pay, how much debt the asset can safely carry, and whether the return is coming from operations or fragile assumptions.

Investor Interpretation

Start with what is contractual and collected, then normalize. A model should expose the lie, not decorate it.

Realist Tie-In

Realist.ca can make rent roll searchable as an encyclopedia entry, link it to property underwriting, and show it beside listings, saved analyses, market pages, and investor lead magnets.