Rent Affordability Calculator
Work out a sustainable rent from your income and existing commitments, and see what is left each month once rent and debts are paid.
💼 Are you a real estate agent or broker? Send this calculator to your buyers on your own branded listing page — every enquiry comes straight to your WhatsApp. Create free agent page →Landlords and letting agents apply an income multiple to decide whether you qualify. That threshold answers their question, not yours — it tests whether you can probably pay, not whether the rest of your life still works afterwards.
This works from take-home pay rather than gross, subtracts commitments you already have, and shows what remains. The rent you can sustain is usually below the rent you would be approved for, and the gap is where financial stress lives.
The calculation
Start with a share of take-home pay — thirty percent is the common benchmark — then subtract existing commitments, since those are already spoken for. Bills not included in the rent are added separately so the true housing cost is visible.
Worked example
On 4,000 a month take-home with a 30% target, the housing budget is 1,200. With 400 of existing commitments, the sustainable rent is 800. Adding 250 of bills makes housing 1,050 a month, or 26% of take-home pay, and leaves 2,550 for everything else.
The deposit is a separate problem
Most tenancies want a deposit plus the first month in advance, and often a holding fee too, all before you move in. That is frequently two or three times the monthly rent in a single payment, and it is entirely separate from whether the ongoing rent is affordable.
Turn a calculation into an enquiry
Buyers who run these numbers are ready to talk. Give every listing its own page with your photo, phone and WhatsApp on it — leads land straight on your phone.
Create your free property pageFrequently asked questions
Is the thirty percent rule reliable?
It is a starting point, not a law. It works reasonably at middle incomes and breaks down at both ends — at low incomes even 30% can leave too little for essentials, while at high incomes 40% may be perfectly comfortable.
Should I use gross or take-home pay?
Take-home, always. Landlords often assess against gross income, which is why their approval threshold sits well above what is actually sustainable once tax and deductions are gone.
What do landlords typically require?
Commonly annual gross income of thirty times the monthly rent, or a guarantor if you fall short. That is their risk test, not an affordability recommendation, and meeting it does not mean the rent is comfortable.