Vacancy rate calculator
Find the vacancy rate of a rental property: the share of the time its units sat empty. Enter the number of units, the days they sat empty over a period, the average rent and any rent lost on occupied units. The results show the vacancy and occupancy rates, the rent that vacancy cost, the economic vacancy rate and the share of units empty today.
Your results
EstimateVacancy rate for the period: 5.00%
- Occupancy rate for the period
- 95.00%
- Rent lost to vacancy
- $7,200.00
- Economic vacancy rate (vacancy plus concessions and unpaid rent)
- 5.69%
- Gross potential rent for the period
- $144,000.00
- Rent collected for the period
- $135,800.00
- Average empty days per unit
- 18.25 days
- Units vacant today as a share of all units
- 12.50%
- To plan with this record, enter 5.00% as the vacancy rate in the rental cash flow, NOI or rental yield calculator.
Results are estimates for planning only. They are not legal, tax or investment advice, and they apply no state or local rules. Check your lease, your local laws and a qualified professional before you rely on a number.
How the vacancy rate is calculated
Vacancy rate = days units sat empty / (number of units x days in the period); occupancy rate = 1 - vacancy rate
Every unit could be let on every day of the period, so a building's capacity is its number of units times the days in the period, counted in unit-days. The vacancy rate is the empty unit-days over that capacity. Counting days gives a rate for the whole period, with each turnover counted for as long as it lasted.
Gross potential rent is the rent every unit would bring if it were let for every day of the period. The calculator takes a day's rent as the monthly rent x 12 / 365. The rent lost to vacancy is gross potential rent times the vacancy rate.
The economic vacancy rate adds the rent you lost on occupied units, such as concessions, free rent and rent you did not collect, to the rent lost to vacancy, as a share of gross potential rent. Units vacant today over all units is the vacancy rate on a single date, the figure a rent roll shows. Use the vacancy rate for the period as the vacancy allowance in the rental cash flow, NOI and rental yield calculators.
Worked example
An 8-unit building rents for an average of $1,500 a month a unit. Over the last year, three move-outs left units empty for 40, 52 and 54 days, 146 days in all. Concessions and unpaid rent on occupied units came to $1,000 over the year, and one unit is vacant today.
- Unit-days in the year: 8 x 365 = 2,920.
- Vacancy rate: 146 / 2,920 = 5.00%. Occupancy rate: 100% - 5.00% = 95.00%.
- Gross potential rent: $1,500 x 12 x 8 = $144,000.
- Rent lost to vacancy: $144,000 x 5% = $7,200.
- Economic vacancy rate: ($7,200 + $1,000) / $144,000 = 5.69%.
- Rent collected: $144,000 - $7,200 - $1,000 = $135,800.
- Average empty days per unit: 146 / 8 = 18.25. Units vacant today: 1 / 8 = 12.50%.
The vacancy rate for the year is 5.00% and the occupancy rate 95.00%. Vacancy cost $7,200.00 of rent, and with concessions and unpaid rent the economic vacancy rate is 5.69%. One of the eight units is empty today, a vacancy rate of 12.50% on that date.
Frequently asked questions
What is a vacancy rate?
A vacancy rate is the share of a rental property's units, or of its unit-days over a period, that sat empty. Its opposite is the occupancy rate: a building with a 5.00% vacancy rate for the year was 95.00% occupied.
How do you calculate a vacancy rate?
Add up the days every unit sat empty in the period and divide by the number of units times the days in the period. In the example, 146 empty days over 8 x 365 = 2,920 unit-days is a vacancy rate of 5.00%.
What is the difference between vacancy and economic vacancy?
The vacancy rate counts only empty units. Economic vacancy also counts the rent lost on occupied units, such as concessions, free rent and unpaid rent, as a share of gross potential rent. In the example, vacancy cost $7,200 and the other losses $1,000, so the economic vacancy rate is 5.69% against a vacancy rate of 5.00%.
Why is the vacancy rate today different from the rate for the year?
The rate today is a snapshot: the units empty on one date over all units. One empty unit out of eight is 12.50% on that date, even when units sat empty for only 146 of the year's 2,920 unit-days, 5.00%. The rate for a period is the better figure for a budget or a rental analysis.
What vacancy rate should I use in a rental analysis?
Start from your own record where you have one: the rate this calculator gives for the last year or two. For a property you are buying, ask the seller for the rent roll and a T12 statement, and compare with similar rentals nearby. Lenders and appraisers may apply their own vacancy allowance, so ask what they use.
See which units are empty
KeyRing's occupancy report shows which units are occupied and which are vacant, with an export. When a unit is empty, a Property Spotlight gives it a public page with photos, a QR flyer and inquiries. Your first subscription starts with a 14-day free trial.