What an empty room costs
Each day a room stands empty costs one day of its rent, and that money never comes back. You can raise next month's rent. You cannot rent out last Tuesday.
In a house rented by the room, it hides. Four bedrooms full and one empty still looks like a house with people in it, and the rent that came in still looks like most of it. Count empty days room by room, never for the house as a whole.
When a lower rent is the cheaper choice
A lower rent is paid every month of the lease, not once. So compare two totals: the cut times the months of the lease, against the days it saves times what the room earns in a day.
- A small cut on a long lease adds up to more than most people expect
- A discount on the first month only is paid once, so it costs far less than the same amount off every month
- A shorter first lease lets you go back to the full rent sooner
How to have fewer empty days
Price is one cause. Most empty days come from starting late.
Check your own state's rule on entering a rented room before you show it.
- List the room the day a resident gives notice, with the date it opens
- Show it while the resident still lives there, with the notice your lease promises
- Book the cleaning for the day after move-out, before the room is empty
- Answer every question about the room the same day
A worked example
A bedroom that rents for $650 a month stands empty for 21 days between residents, once a year. The owner is weighing $50 off the rent to fill it faster, on a 12-month lease.
- One empty day (12 months of rent, divided by 365)
- $21.37
- 21 days empty
- $448.77
- What the room really brings in a month
- $612.60
- $50 off the rent, for 12 months
- $600
- Days sooner the lower rent has to fill the room
- 29
The $50 cut looked small beside an empty room. Over the lease it costs $600, which is $151.23 more than the three weeks the room stood empty.
Common questions
How do I work out the daily rent of a room?
Multiply the monthly rent by twelve and divide by 365. This calculator rounds that to the cent and builds every other figure from it, so days times the daily figure always matches the total shown. A lease that prorates a part month may count the days in that month instead.
What is a normal number of empty days for a room?
There is no single figure, and this page does not invent one. Look at your own last three move-outs. Count the days from each move-out to the next move-in and use the average. Rooms let for a semester or a summer change hands more often than rooms on year leases, so count the times a year as well.
Should I lower the rent or offer a move-in special?
Work out both. A lower rent costs the cut times every month of the lease. A special costs its amount once. If the two would fill the room equally fast, the one-time special is cheaper, and the rent is still where it was when the lease comes up for renewal.
Does an empty room cost more than its rent?
Often, yes. If you cover utilities and internet for the house, those bills keep arriving while the room is empty, and either you or the other residents carry that room's share. This calculator counts the lost rent only, so treat its answer as the least the room cost you.
These calculators are educational and are not legal, tax, lending, or accounting advice. Rules vary by state and by city, and your lease governs your own properties. Check your own requirements before relying on any number here.