Home & mortgage
Rent Affordability Calculator
See how much rent your income supports after debts and bills, by the 30% rule, a debt test and the landlord income checks such as 3 times or 30 times the rent.
Rent you can afford, per month
$1,560.00
set by the rent, bills and debts share · $3,840.00 of gross income left after rent, bills and debts
- Rent$1,560.0026%
- Utilities and bills$200.003%
- Debt payments$400.007%
- Left over$3,840.0064%
The rent each test allows
| Test | Most rent it allows |
|---|---|
| Rent and bills share | $1,600.00 |
| Rent, bills and debts share | $1,560.00 |
| Landlord's income test | $2,000.00 |
How the rent and bills share works
30% of $6,000.00 is $1,800.00; less $200.00 of bills leaves $1,600.00 for rent.
How the rent, bills and debts share works
36% of $6,000.00 is $2,160.00; less $200.00 of bills and $400.00 of debt payments leaves $1,560.00.
The traditional back-end guideline for housing costs plus every other debt payment, the same 36% American mortgage lenders start from.
How the landlord's income test works
$72,000.00 a year ÷ 36 is $2,000.00, the most rent this test passes.
The common American and Canadian landlord screen: gross monthly income of three times the monthly rent, the same as a year's income of 36 months' rent.
Rules of thumb, not a landlord's decision. An estimate, not financial advice, providers may calculate differently.
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How this is calculated
Your gross income is turned into a monthly figure and run through up to three tests, and the rent you can afford is the lowest of their answers. The first keeps rent and utilities within a share of income, 30% to begin with, which is how HUD and CMHC define an affordable home; the second keeps rent, utilities and your other debt payments within a wider share, so a car loan lowers the rent you can carry. The third is the landlord's own screen, yearly income of so many times the monthly rent, and the result names whichever test binds.
Affordable rentthe lowest of
h × M − bills
t × M − bills − debts
12 × M ÷ k
- M
- gross income per month: the Gross income, divided by 12 if it is yearly
- h, t
- the two shares of income you set, as fractions
- k
- the landlord's multiple: 36 for three times the rent, 30 for the British test
What this does not include
- Tax: every test here is on gross income, so take-home pay is not worked out.
- Deposits, rent in advance and agency fees, which are capped differently in each country.
- A landlord's credit and reference checks, or a guarantor's own finances.
- Housing benefit, rent allowances or any subsidy that lowers what you pay.
- Savings: the result is what income supports month by month, not what you can pay upfront.
How this calculator works
How much rent can you afford? The 30% rule and landlord income tests. Where the 30% line comes from, how debts change it, what 3 times and 30 times the rent mean as income, and a worked check of a 1,000 rent on 36,000 a year.
Data sources
| Dataset | Authority | Effective | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent affordability standards and landlord income tests | HUD User | Within its effective period |
Every document each dataset was read from, its notes and how the figures were checked are listed in the guide's data sources.
This calculator is for general information only and is not financial advice. Results are estimates based on the figures you enter and the stated formula; lenders and providers may round or calculate differently. Check any decision with the institution involved or a qualified adviser.