What does an empty rental really cost per day? A small landlord’s vacancy workbook

An empty rental costs more than the rent you miss: add repairs and cleaning, utilities, any move-in special and, if you choose, your own time. Divide that total by days empty to find a useful cost per day, then use it to weigh a rent cut against more waiting.

This is general information for planning, not legal, tax or financial advice. Use your own costs and circumstances, and ask a qualified professional about your situation.

What does an empty rental cost per day?

Multiply monthly rent divided by 30 by days between move-out and move-in. The 30-day month is a planning shortcut. Add vacancy costs, then divide the total by empty days. Keep the rent-only number beside the all-in figure.

Add the costs that get missed

Gather receipts, utility bills and showing notes:

• Repairs and cleaning: Work between tenants, including the cleaner and supplies you pay for. Note what would have happened regardless of how long the unit remained empty.

• Utilities while empty: Use the amount you pay for the vacant period, or estimate monthly utilities divided by 30 times empty days.

• Move-in specials: Count any free rent period, gift card or other incentive at its actual cost to you. If you are only considering a special, keep it as a separate scenario rather than adding it to your current total.

• Your time, if you want to count it: Log hours spent on messages, showings and trips, then multiply by an hourly value you choose. Leave it out if you want a cash-only calculation.

Keep one-off charges separate from bills that rise with each extra empty day. Don't count anything twice.

Turn the total into a per-day number

Use this planning equation:

Total vacancy cost = (monthly rent ÷ 30 × days empty) + repairs and cleaning + (monthly vacant utilities ÷ 30 × days empty) + move-in specials + optional value of your time.

Cost per empty day = total vacancy cost ÷ days empty.

One-off cleaning makes a short vacancy's daily average higher. Waiting another day does not trigger that bill again.

Pick your own yearly yardstick

Multiply monthly rent by 12. Choose a share of yearly rent for vacancy planning, such as 8%; it is your choice, not a standard. Divide that dollar allowance by your daily average for a rough number of days.

Yearly vacancy allowance in dollars = yearly rent × your chosen percentage. Estimated days = that allowance ÷ cost per empty day. Write down the percentage and assumptions so you can revisit them if the rent, bills or expected empty period changes.

This is not an exact deadline. One-off bills arrive in chunks; track actual costs as they occur.

Use the number to decide whether to wait

One landlord discussion about holding out for a higher asking rent compares a lower monthly price with the rent lost while waiting. In another owner's question about accepting a lower offer, the trade-off is how long a higher-paying renter would take to arrive. Neither choice always wins.

Lower the rent or wait? Multiply a proposed monthly cut by 12 to see its cost over a 12-month lease. Divide that by your per-day estimate to see how many empty days the cut would need to save to pay for itself. That is a quick screen, not a prediction. A lower base rent can carry into renewals. Exclude one-off costs you would pay either way when valuing days saved.

Offer a special instead? Compare the one-time cost of a free week or other special with the cost of the days you realistically think it could save. Don't count the special in both sides of the comparison. If nobody moves in sooner, the special only adds cost.

Speed up a turnover? A tighter turnover can shorten the empty period. Value each day saved using the costs it really avoids, without treating work already paid for as a new daily saving.

Keep your written screening criteria the same for everyone; don't change them to fill a unit faster.

Worked example: a hypothetical 21-day vacancy

Suppose rent is $1,500 a month, the unit is empty for 21 days, repairs and cleaning cost $600, utilities while empty run $120 a month, and there is no move-in special. You also count six hours of your own time at $25 an hour.

• Lost rent: 21 ÷ 30 × $1,500 = $1,050.

• Repairs and cleaning: $600.

• Vacant utilities: 21 ÷ 30 × $120 = $84.

• Your time: six hours × $25 = $150.

• Total: $1,050 + $600 + $84 + $150 = $1,884.

• All-in average: $1,884 ÷ 21 = about $90 per empty day, versus $50 per day from lost rent alone.

For a separate yearly yardstick, $1,500 × 12 = $18,000 in scheduled yearly rent. If you choose 8%, the allowance is $1,440; dividing that by the $89.71 average gives about 16 days. That is not an exact threshold: repairs and your time do not accrue evenly.

For a decision about one additional empty day in this example, lost rent and utilities add about $54 per day ($50 plus $4), assuming those are the only costs that grow. The $90 average describes the full 21-day vacancy; using it as a guaranteed saving from filling one day earlier would overstate the saving if the repair and time costs stay the same.

One last thing

Price the empty days before you choose a lower rent, a special or more waiting. The all-in average tells you what this vacancy has cost; the costs you can actually avoid tell you what a faster move-in is worth. This is general planning information, not legal, tax or financial advice; use your own figures and consult a qualified professional for your situation.