What is a Rent Roll?

A rent roll is a document that lists due rent and rents that have been collected on an investment property. According to the Balance, “it focuses on the gross rent collected, not net rent after expenses, such as a monthly mortgage, insurance, taxes, or utilities.” 

In other words, a rent roll is a statement of the rental property, which is crucial for landlords looking to create sustainable passive income. Beyond the gross rent, this document outlines the lease terms, due dates, and late fees to capture expected income and historic income.

How is a Rent Roll Useful to a Property Manager or Landlord?

Landlords and property managers use rent rolls in the daily management of properties since this document can be used to analyze expected rental income, the actual rental income collected, and whether there’s room for rent increases based on the fair market value of the area, according to the Balance.

Since this document is broken down by unit, the landlord can easily see which tenants haven’t been paying rent or have been consistently late paying rent. Using a rent roll can help you stay on top of problems long term.

How Does a Rent Roll Work?

A rent roll outlines the rent per unit, and it details the total rent amount for the investment property as a whole. By collecting rent data from each individual tenant’s lease agreement in one easy-to-read document, you don’t have to waste time looking up each tenant’s lease to remember rent amounts or lease start and end dates.

How to Create a Rent Roll

Per the Balance, a rent roll can be created using a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Once your rent roll is set up, enter the data as you collect it. By making your own document, you can tailor the rows and columns to your investment property’s unique needs, but there is standard information you should consider adding.

For example, a rent roll document heading usually lists:

• The name of the property owner
• The rental property address
• The name of the property manager/management company (as applicable)

Then, each rental unit should have its own dedicated row that lists:

• The unit number
• Square footage
• Number of beds and baths
• Security deposit collected
• Rent amount owed
• Rent collected
• Lease start date
• Lease end date
• Additional tenant expenses
• Additional unit information (such as a scheduled rent increase or renovations)

To finish off the document, the rent totals should be listed as well. Include both the monthly rent collected and the yearly rent collected to wrap up your rent roll.