How does vacancy affect rental income?

An empty month removes a full rent payment from your year while most costs carry on. Two empty months on a twelve-month year remove roughly a sixth of your expected rent, which is why voids usually matter more than small changes in rent.

Why do costs continue during a vacancy?

The mortgage, insurance, property tax and service charges are tied to owning the property, not to having a tenant. Only tenant-linked costs, such as some utilities, may pause.

What counts as a monthly property cost here?

Everything you keep paying while the property is empty: mortgage payment, insurance, tax, service charges, and any utilities or standing charges you cover yourself.

How should I plan for vacancy?

Many landlords set aside part of each month's rent so a void does not become a cash problem. Tracking your actual empty months over time shows how often it happens for your properties rather than relying on a rule of thumb.

How Much Does Vacancy Cost Your Rental?

Put a number on the empty months — lost rent plus the costs that keep running.

Your numbers

Currency

Monthly rent

Months vacant2

012

Monthly property costs (optional)

Mortgage, insurance, tax and charges you still pay while empty.

Total financial impact

$4,800

$3,000 of rent not collected plus $1,800 of costs during the void.

The breakdown

Lost rental income$3,000

Costs during vacancy$1,800

Total financial impact$4,800

Effect on the year

Expected annual rent$18,000

Rent after 2 vacant months$15,000

What this means

2 empty months
$3,000 of rent is not collected, about 17% of the expected annual rent entered.
Costs keep running
About $1,800 of property costs still have to be paid across those months.
Spread across the year
Set against twelve months, this works out to roughly $400 per month.

See your full property cash flow

Track rent, costs and empty months in one place, and watch the real result month by month.

See Your Full Property Cash Flow

No card needed. Your calculator numbers carry over to your first property.

Propertira provides estimates based on the information you enter. Results are for informational purposes only and are not financial, tax, legal or investment advice.

Why vacancy is easy to underestimate

Rent arrives monthly, so it is tempting to think of a void as one missing payment. In practice the loss lands twice: the rent does not arrive, and the mortgage, insurance and service charges still do. Over a year that combination moves the result far more than a modest rent increase ever could.

Turnover costs — cleaning, small repairs, advertising — often follow a void as well. They are not included above, so treat the figure as the floor rather than the full picture.

Related calculations

Once you know your void exposure, check what a normal month looks like with the cash flow calculator or find your cost floor with the break-even rent calculator.