The Rental Wire / Planning tools
Tenant Turnover Cost Calculator
Compare a lease renewal with finding a new tenant. Include vacant days, repairs and leasing fees to see what higher rent would need to earn back.
What if finding a tenant takes longer?
Each row keeps rent, repair costs and your comparison period the same. Vacancy changes collected rent and additional vacancy costs.
| Vacant days | Re-letting net | Re-letting minus renewal |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | $18,730 | −$1,544 |
| 21 | $17,356 | −$2,918 |
| 30 | $16,767 | −$3,507 |
How turnover costs affect the comparison
Renewal net = renewal rent × months × (1 − management rate) − renewal fee
Re-letting net = new rent × occupied months × (1 − management rate) − repairs − marketing − leasing fee − extra vacancy costs
Occupied months are the comparison period minus vacant days × 12 ÷ 365, with a minimum of zero. Vacancy costs stop at the end of the comparison. The leasing fee is charged only if a new lease starts during that time. Repairs and marketing are paid at the start.
A worked example
Over 12 months, $1,850 renewal rent with 8% management and a $150 renewal fee leaves $20,274 before ordinary property costs. Re-letting at $2,000 after 21 vacant days leaves $17,356.08 after management, $1,200 in repairs, $150 in marketing, a one-month leasing fee and $150 per vacant month in extra costs. Renewal is ahead by $2,917.92 in this example.
To match renewal, new rent would need to reach $2,310.26 before display rounding. A fee equal to one month of rent also rises to $2,310.26. The solver accounts for that; treating the fee as a fixed $2,000 would understate the target.
Questions about tenant turnover
Does this tell me whether to renew a lease?
It compares the entered financial choices. It does not judge tenant reliability, repair needs, your plans for the property or applicable lease requirements. It also assumes the renewal is accepted. Use it to understand the cost of the alternatives, not to predict what a tenant will do.
Why not add the mortgage during vacancy?
Your regular mortgage, taxes and insurance are owed in either choice, so including them in just the turnover column would bias the comparison. Only enter additional vacancy costs. Use the full rental calculator to check total property cash flow.
Is lost rent included twice?
No. The re-letting column earns rent only after the vacant period, which already reflects lost rent. Direct turnover cost includes cash spending only. The separate lost-rent line uses renewal rent as a reference and is not subtracted again.
What if the unit is empty for the whole period?
The re-letting choice receives no rent and pays no new-tenant leasing fee during the comparison. It still includes the entered upfront repairs, marketing and extra vacancy costs. There is no new-rent target that can recover those costs within that period.
Why can the required rent be unavailable?
If no rent is collected, or management and a rent-based leasing fee consume all incremental rent during the period, increasing rent cannot improve the result. Try a period that reflects how long the next lease would actually run. The tool does not invent a rent target for an impossible comparison.
Does a longer period include more rent growth or another turnover?
No. Both rents stay fixed and the model includes one initial lease change. A longer period gives the new rent more time to offset the initial costs. It does not model future departures, later renewal fees, rent increases or the time value of money.