Reading a Multifamily Rent Roll: Loss-to-Lease, Concentration Risk, and the 5 Numbers Lenders Verify

A rent roll is the most heavily massaged document in any multifamily OM. Aggressive operators present in-place rents next to "market rents" without disclosing the rent gap, hide non-revenue units in occupancy stats, and roll up concessions into "effective rent" that bears no relationship to the actual lease ledger.

A defensible rent roll analysis walks through five numbers. First, in-place rent per unit type vs market rent — the loss-to-lease, which is upside but not base-case income. Second, lease-rollover concentration — how much of the income is tied to leases ending in the next 90 days. Third, top-tenant concentration if it's a small property — does any tenant represent more than 5% of revenue. Fourth, non-revenue units (employee, model, down) and whether they're in occupancy stats. Fifth, concession history — how often the operator has given away the first month, and what that says about real demand.

Lenders verify each of these by pulling the lease ledger directly. If your model is built on the broker's rent roll without this reconciliation, the lender's underwriting will produce a different number — and you will find out at term-sheet stage.

Full guide coming soon. Want an automated rent-roll reality check today? Run a free screening — the report parses your rent roll line-by-line and flags every common discrepancy.