A rent roll is a document that contains detailed information about the income from a rental property and its tenants. It usually comes in the form of an itemized report that lays out the amount of rent a tenant owes each month, the rent payments you’ve already received, and any outstanding payments a tenant owes.
Knowing how to create a rent roll is an important part of being a landlord:
- Why accuracy matters in a rent roll
- Essential components of a rent roll
- Sourcing accurate data for your rent roll
- How to create a rent roll on Apartments.com
Why Accuracy Matters in a Rent Roll
As a key document for landlords, rent rolls allow you to keep a record of financial information, see your property’s cash flow, and analyze your investment. But in order to be able to do those tasks, you need to have an accurate rent roll.
Tips for maintaining an accurate rent roll
To keep an accurate rent roll, it is vital to stay consistent and make a routine:
- Include all essential information: your rent roll should have all the information you need. Find out what it should include below.
- Regular updates: whenever there is a lease change, move-in/move-out, rent change, or other change, make sure to update your rent roll with the new information.
- Maintaining consistency: create a rent roll template that you use every time to prevent any discrepancies or confusion.
- Audits: every time you create a rent roll, check all the data included to make sure it is accurate and there are no errors. It is a good habit to do this habitually, whether it be monthly or quarterly. This could include:
- Cross-referencing with leases: double check that all tenants, monthly rent, and other information on the lease are the same on the rent roll.
- Compare with bank statements: ensure that the amounts on your rent roll are the same as they are on your bank statement or other financial tracking.
Essential Components of a Rent Roll
Rent rolls on Apartments.com start out with a summary of your property:
- Property address
- Total monthly rent: total amount of all the rent of each unit combined
- Total deposits: total amount of all the deposits from each unit
- Total overdue balance: total amount of overdue balance of all units combined
- Total vacant units: how many vacant units you have in total
Then the rent roll delves into the unit details:
- Unit name
- Residents (or if the unit is vacant)
- Lease term and type
- Rooms: number of bedrooms and bathrooms
- Size (square footage): the square footage of the specific unit
- Monthly rent
- Deposit (security deposit)
- Overdue: the amount of money the tenant still owes
Additional information to include on a rent roll
Rent rolls are highly customizable documents that each landlord can tailor to their own preferences. On Apartments.com, they come with a set of standard information, but you can download it as an excel file and add more information. Here is some additional information that you could include on a rent roll:
- Lot size
- Property type
- Property zoning
- Extra features
- Extra amenities
- Breakdown of additional rental fees
- Rent due date
- Date tenant paid rent
- Rent concessions
- Total annual rent
Sourcing Accurate Data for Your Rent Roll
Part of maintaining an accurate rent roll is sourcing the data from reliable sources. Here are some sources you can use to pull data for your rent roll:
- Lease
- Tenant file
- County tax assessor
- Rental management software on Apartments.com
- Income statement (Profit & Loss statement) on Apartments.com
- Appraisal report
How to Create a Rent Roll on Apartments.com
The easiest way to make a rent roll is by having Apartments.com generate it for you. If you’re using Apartments.com Payments, then you can use the rent roll report tool. It only takes a couple of clicks too:
- Go to the Reports tab in Rental Manager
- Scroll down to Operational Reports and select Rent Roll Report
- Pick your property from the dropdown menu and hit create
Your report is now automatically created for you using all your payment data in Apartments.com. Don’t worry if you have offline transactions; if you record them in Apartments.com as an offline payment, they will be included in the rent roll.
Generate Reports on Apartments.com
Rent rolls aren’t the only reports that Apartments.com offers. There are a variety of reports to help you check on your business operations and assess your rental’s performance, including:
- Rent comp report
- Income statement (P&L statement)
- Expenses
- Transactions
Discover these reports and more when you manage your property with Rental Tools on Apartments.com!
FAQ
What is the difference between a rent roll and a profit and loss (P&L) statement?
A rent roll shows detailed rental income and tenant information, while a P&L statement summarizes overall income and expenses to show a property’s profitability. On Apartments.com, a P&L statement is called an income statement.
What red flags should I look for in a rent roll?
When looking for red flags in your rent roll, keep an eye out for these:
- Lots of vacancies
- Inconsistent or missing data
- Frequent late payments/overdue balances
- Short lease terms
- Below-market rent rates
Does a rent roll include expenses?
No, a rent roll primarily focuses on income and tenant details. Expenses are typically listed in a profit and loss statement or other financial reports.
