Definition
A rent roll is a report that lists each unit (multifamily) or tenant (commercial) in a property, along with key lease and income details such as current rent, lease start/end dates, unit type, and other recurring charges. It is one of the most important documents for underwriting because it ties revenue assumptions to actual, unit-by-unit lease data.
What a Rent Roll Typically Includes
Fields vary by property management software and asset type, but many rent rolls include:
- Unit / tenant identifier: unit number or suite name
- Unit type: bed/bath, square footage, floor plan
- Status: occupied, vacant, notice, model, down unit
- Lease term: lease start and end dates (and renewal options, if applicable)
- Contract rent: base rent in the lease
- Other income: parking, pet rent/fees, storage, utilities, RUBS, admin fees
- Deposits: security deposits and other deposits held
- Concessions: free rent or discounts (sometimes shown separately)
- Resident/tenant balance: delinquencies or credits (sometimes included)
How Investors Use a Rent Roll
- Verify income: reconcile rent roll totals to T-12 and trailing collections.
- Measure occupancy: compare physical occupancy vs economic occupancy (cash collected).
- Assess lease rollover: understand how much income is exposed to near-term expirations.
- Identify rent upside: compare in-place rents to market rents by unit type and condition.
- Spot operational issues: high vacancy, lots of notice units, unusual concessions, or elevated delinquency.
- Underwrite other income: validate consistency and sustainability of fees and reimbursements.
Rent Roll vs. T-12
A rent roll is a snapshot of current (or as-of) leases and charges at the unit/tenant level. A T-12 (trailing 12-month profit and loss) shows historical revenue and expenses over time. Underwriters typically reconcile both to confirm that “paper rent†matches actual collections and that revenue is durable.
Example
A 50-unit property shows 47 units occupied on the rent roll (94% physical occupancy). The rent roll indicates total scheduled rent of $85,000/month plus $4,500/month in other income. However, the T-12 shows average collected revenue of $83,000/month due to concessions and bad debt.
An investor would adjust underwriting to reflect economic reality, not just scheduled rent, and then investigate why collections trail billed rent (delinquencies, concessions, administrative errors, or unit status issues).
Common Diligence Checks
- As-of date: is the rent roll current and consistent with today’s occupancy?
- Lease file verification: spot-check leases against rent roll entries (rent, dates, fees).
- Concessions and bad debt: confirm whether rent roll reflects net effective rent or gross rent.
- Unit status accuracy: verify down units, models, employee units, and “vacant†categories.
- Other income support: validate parking/pet/storage counts and pricing; confirm utility billing method.
- Deposits and balances: reconcile deposits held and resident ledgers where required.
- Rollover concentration: identify months with heavy expirations and plan renewal strategy.
Common Pitfalls
- Using “scheduled†rent as “collected†rent: economic occupancy may be lower than physical.
- Outdated rent roll: a two-week-old roll can miss move-outs, renewals, or rent increases.
- Hidden concessions: free rent can make in-place rent look higher than net effective rent.
- Fee inflation: non-recurring fees may be mistaken for durable other income.
- Mismatch with bank deposits: always confirm rent roll claims with actual collections and ledgers.