What Is Rent Roll?

If you own rental property, you need a rent roll. It does not matter if you have 2 units or 200. A rent roll is the single most important document in your landlord toolkit.

Think of it as the master list of who is paying you, how much, and when their lease is up. Banks ask for it when you refinance. Insurance companies want it. And you should be looking at it every single month.

What Exactly Is a Rent Roll?

A rent roll is a document that lists every unit in your portfolio with the key financial details for each one. At minimum, it includes:

• Unit number or address
• Tenant name
• Monthly rent amount
• Lease start date
• Lease end date
• Security deposit amount
• Current payment status (paid, overdue, vacant)

Some landlords add columns for late fees collected, lease renewal dates, or notes about the tenant. The more detail you include, the more useful it becomes.

Why Your Rent Roll Matters

Your rent roll is not just a list. It is a financial tool that tells you three critical things at a glance.

Total expected income. Add up the rent column and you know exactly what you should collect this month. For a 10-unit building charging an average of $1,200 per unit, that is $12,000 per month in expected gross rent.

Vacancy exposure. If two of those 10 units are empty, your vacancy rate is 20% and you are leaving $2,400 on the table every month. The rent roll makes that obvious.

Lease concentration risk. If 6 of your 10 leases expire in the same month, you have a problem. The rent roll shows lease end dates so you can stagger renewals and avoid a turnover avalanche.

How to Create a Rent Roll

You do not need special software. A spreadsheet works perfectly for most landlords.

Step 1: Open a new spreadsheet. Google Sheets or Excel. Either works. Create columns for: Unit, Tenant Name, Rent Amount, Lease Start, Lease End, Deposit, Status.

Step 2: Enter every unit. Even vacant ones. List the unit with "VACANT" as the tenant name and $0 as the rent amount. You want a complete picture.

Step 3: Add formulas. At the bottom, sum your total rent column for expected income. Count the vacant rows for your vacancy count. Calculate your effective gross income by subtracting vacancies from total potential rent.

Step 4: Update it monthly. Every time you collect rent, mark the status. Every time a lease changes, update the dates. This takes 5 minutes a month and saves hours when tax time or a bank meeting comes around.

Real Example: 8-Unit Rent Roll

Here is what a rent roll looks like for a small apartment building:

Unit 1A: Johnson, $1,100/mo, lease 3/1/25 to 2/28/26, $1,100 deposit, PAID
Unit 1B: Martinez, $1,150/mo, lease 6/1/25 to 5/31/26, $1,150 deposit, PAID
Unit 2A: VACANT, $0, no lease, $0 deposit, VACANT
Unit 2B: Thompson, $1,200/mo, lease 1/1/26 to 12/31/26, $1,200 deposit, LATE (5 days)
Unit 3A: Williams, $1,250/mo, lease 9/1/25 to 8/31/26, $1,250 deposit, PAID
Unit 3B: Davis, $1,100/mo, lease 4/1/25 to 3/31/26, $1,100 deposit, PAID
Unit 4A: Brown, $1,300/mo, lease 7/1/25 to 6/30/26, $1,300 deposit, PAID
Unit 4B: Garcia, $1,200/mo, lease 11/1/25 to 10/31/26, $1,200 deposit, PAID

Total potential rent: $9,300/mo. Actual collected this month: $8,100 (one vacant, one late). That is a 12.9% gap between what you could earn and what you actually collected.

Common Mistakes Landlords Make With Rent Rolls

Not including vacant units. Your rent roll should show every unit, occupied or not. Leaving out vacancies makes your income look better than it is. Lenders will catch this immediately.

Forgetting to update it. A rent roll from 6 months ago is useless. If you raised rent on Unit 3A from $1,250 to $1,300, your rent roll should reflect that. Outdated numbers lead to bad decisions.

Only tracking rent amounts. The rent roll is also where you track lease expiration dates. If you are not watching those dates, you will miss renewal conversations and lose tenants you could have kept. Check out our guide on managing rental properties with spreadsheets for more on this.

Not using it for analysis. Your rent roll feeds into bigger calculations like net operating income, cap rate, and gross rent multiplier. If you are not running those numbers, you are flying blind on your investment performance.

How Lenders Use Your Rent Roll

Every time you apply for a mortgage on a rental property, the bank will ask for a rent roll. They want to verify two things: that the property generates enough income to cover the loan payment, and that the income is stable.

A clean, updated rent roll with long-term tenants and low vacancy tells a lender this is a safe investment. A messy one with gaps and inconsistencies raises red flags.

Most lenders want to see a debt service coverage ratio of at least 1.2x. Your rent roll is where that calculation starts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is included in a rent roll?

A rent roll includes unit numbers, tenant names, lease start and end dates, monthly rent amounts, security deposit amounts, and payment status. Some landlords also include notes about late payments or upcoming renewals.

How often should I update my rent roll?

Update your rent roll every time there is a change: new tenant moves in, rent increases, lease renewal, or a vacancy. At minimum, review it monthly when collecting rent.

Do I need a rent roll for a small portfolio?

Yes. Even with 2-3 units, a rent roll keeps you organized and is required by lenders if you ever refinance or buy another property. Start the habit early.

Can I use a spreadsheet as my rent roll?

Absolutely. Most landlords with under 50 units use Google Sheets or Excel for their rent roll. The key is consistency. Use the same format every month and keep it updated.