The rent roll: how to keep one and how to read it
A rent roll is a list of every unit in a property on a given date, with the tenant, lease dates, rent, deposit and balance owed. It is the single page that tells you, a lender or a buyer what the building earns and what is at risk. Keep it as of one date each month, and read it for vacancies, below-market rents, leases about to end and unpaid balances.
The columns a rent roll needs
| Column | Why it is there |
|---|---|
| Unit | One row per unit, including vacant ones, so the count always equals the building |
| Unit type | Bedrooms and baths, so rents can be compared like for like |
| Tenant | Name on the lease, or Vacant |
| Lease start and end | Shows renewals coming up and month-to-month tenants |
| Monthly rent | What the lease says, before any one-time discounts |
| Market rent | What you would ask today, to measure the gap |
| Deposit held | Money you may have to return |
| Balance | What the tenant owes (or has prepaid) as of the date |
Put the as-of date at the top. A rent roll without a date cannot be checked against the bank or the books.
A sample rent roll
Example a made-up 6 unit building, as of November 1, 2026. Five units are leased at a total of $5,800 a month and one is vacant with a market rent of $1,200, so gross potential rent is $7,000. Deposits held add up to $5,750, and two tenants owe a total of $1,200.
| Unit | Tenant | Lease end | Rent | Deposit | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | J. Rivera | 2026-11-30 | $1,150 | $1,150 | $0 |
| 1B | Vacant | - | $1,200 (market) | $0 | $0 |
| 2A | M. Chen | 2027-05-31 | $1,225 | $1,225 | $0 |
| 2B | T. Okafor | Month-to-month | $1,050 | $1,000 | $1,050 |
| 3A | L. Park | 2027-01-31 | $1,200 | $1,200 | $0 |
| 3B | D. Smith | 2026-11-14 | $1,175 | $1,175 | $150 |
| Total | 5 of 6 leased | $5,800 leased | $5,750 | $1,200 |
How to read it in five minutes
- Count: occupied plus vacant rows must equal the number of units. In the sample, 5 + 1 = 6.
- Vacancies: 1B has been empty how long? Each month costs $1,200 of potential rent.
- Lease ends: 3B ends November 14 and 1A on November 30. Both need a renewal decision now.
- Below market: 2B pays $1,050 against $1,200 for similar units, and is month-to-month.
- Balances: 2B owes a full month and 3B owes $150. Unit 2B is the one to call first.
In five steps the sample tells you the week's work: one vacancy to fill, two renewals to settle, one rent to review and one tenant to call.
Deposits and prepaid rent are not the same as income
Keep deposits in their own column, never added into rent. The IRS says in Publication 527 not to include a security deposit in income when you receive it if you plan to return it at the end of the lease; it becomes income only if you keep some of it, for example because the tenant did not live up to the lease. The same publication says advance rent is income in the year you receive it, whatever period it covers. Show prepaid rent as a negative balance on the tenant's row, so the roll and the books agree. Rules on where deposits are kept and when they must be returned are set by each state, so check your own.
What lenders and buyers check
- That the rents on the roll match the signed leases.
- That the total matches the deposits in the bank statements for the same months.
- How many leases end in the next few months, and how many are month-to-month.
- Whether any tenant is a relative, an employee or getting a discount not written in the lease.
- Deposits held, which pass to a buyer at closing.
A rent roll you keep honestly every month is easy to defend. One built the night before a refinance is not.
Keeping it current
Update the roll on the same day each month, right after you match rent payments, and save a copy of each month's version. Those monthly copies become the history a lender asks for, and they let you see trends such as rising balances or slower leasing. If you keep it in a spreadsheet, lock the formulas and keep one row per unit even when a unit is vacant.
Update the market rent column at least twice a year, before your busiest renewal months, from listings for similar units nearby. A market rent that is two years old makes every unit look fairly priced, and the gap you most need to see disappears from the page.
Rent rolls in DoorKeeping
DoorKeeping keeps the rent roll for you from your units and leases. Ask Claude or ChatGPT "show me the rent roll as of November 1" and it returns each tenant, lease dates, rent and deposit for that date, using DoorKeeping's rent roll tool. Each property keeps its own books, including deposits held, and the web app shows every property together.
Sources
- IRS, Publication 527, Residential Rental Property, read Oct 29, 2026
Questions
- What is a rent roll?
- A list of every unit in a property on a given date, with the tenant, lease dates, rent, deposit held and balance owed.
- Should vacant units be on the rent roll?
- Yes. Every unit gets a row, so the count matches the building and the cost of each vacancy is visible.
- How often should I update my rent roll?
- Once a month on the same date, after you match rent payments, and keep a saved copy of each month.