Rental, Investment and Commercial Real Estate

Rental Property Cash Flow Calculator Canada

Estimate effective property income, NOI, annual debt service, capital and leasing reserves, monthly cash flow, DSCR, break-even occupancy, and rent required for break-even.

Monthly and annual cash flowNOI and DSCRCapital and leasing reservesBreak-even occupancy

Calculation inputs

Build an annual property cash-flow model

Separate operating performance from mortgage debt service and capital or leasing reserves.

$
$
%
$
$
Capital and leasing reserves
$
$

How the calculation works

Understand the formula before relying on the result

Annualize property income

Monthly rent and other income are annualized and reduced by vacancy.

Separate NOI from cash flow

Operating expenses produce NOI. Debt service, capital reserves, and leasing costs are then deducted to produce cash flow.

Measure coverage

DSCR uses NOI divided by annual debt service and excludes capital and leasing reserves.

Calculate break-even

Break-even occupancy and required rent include the entered recurring outflows.

Interpret the result

NOI is not cash flow

NOI excludes financing and selected capital or leasing cash requirements.

Positive cash flow needs a reserve

A small surplus may disappear after a repair, vacancy, tenant turnover, or rate increase.

Coverage can be stronger than cash flow

A property can meet DSCR but still have weak investor cash flow after reserves.

Break-even is an assumption test

It shows how much occupancy or rent is needed under the entered costs, not a forecast.

Common mistakes

  • Counting security deposits as income.
  • Ignoring vacancy or tenant turnover.
  • Mixing capital improvements into ordinary operating expenses without consistency.
  • Using interest-only debt service when the actual loan amortizes.
  • Assuming positive cash flow guarantees lender approval.

What lenders review

  • Normalized NOI and lease support.
  • Annual principal-and-interest debt service.
  • Vacancy, tenant concentration, and lease rollover.
  • Property condition and capital requirements.
  • LTV, DSCR, debt yield, borrower liquidity, and experience.

Planning tips

  • Use actual annual debt service from the proposed loan.
  • Create a separate capital reserve even when recent repairs are low.
  • Stress-test one month of additional vacancy.
  • Compare the result with the rental-property and investment-return calculators.
  • Revisit cash flow at every renewal or major lease change.

Connected HopeWell knowledge

Connect the cash flow calculator to the mortgage decision

Use the result alongside HopeWell's guide chapters, glossary definitions, real underwriting case studies, service pages, and related calculators.

Calculation pathway

Related mortgage calculators

Continue into qualification, purchase costs, equity, refinancing, HELOC planning, and mortgage comparison using the connected calculators below.

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Frequently asked questions

Questions about this calculation

What is rental-property cash flow?

It is the money remaining after effective property income pays operating expenses, mortgage debt service, and any reserves or leasing costs included in the model.

Why is cash flow different from NOI?

NOI excludes debt service and usually excludes capital expenditures, while cash flow includes the financing and reserve assumptions selected here.

What does negative cash flow mean?

The property requires additional cash contributions under the entered assumptions.

Does break-even occupancy include mortgage payments?

Yes, this calculator includes operating expenses, debt service, capital reserve, and leasing costs in the break-even measure.

Is cash flow before tax?

Yes. The calculator does not model income tax, depreciation, or capital-cost allowance.