Tools
Rental cash flow and borrowing room
This tool shows what the rent on an Ontario rental leaves each month after vacancy, costs and the mortgage, and how far the rent covers the mortgage payment. Run the numbers before you buy: the tool also explains how lenders generally count rental income when you borrow.
Written by Stonefield Mortgage · Reviewed by David Steinfeld, principal broker · Stonefield Mortgage, FSRA mortgage brokerage licence #13722 · [review pending — before this page is indexed]
Published · Updated
A scenario rate; try more than one
The share of rent you expect to lose to empty months
Monthly costs
Enter a mortgage rate to see the monthly cash flow and the coverage read. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
How this tool works
- Monthly cash flow = rent after the vacancy allowance, minus the costs you enter, minus the mortgage payment (semi-annual compounding). Before income tax: ask your accountant about rental income and interest.
- Coverage = what the rent leaves before the mortgage, divided by the mortgage payment. Above 1.0, the rent carries the mortgage and the costs you entered.
- CMHC-insured, owner-occupied, 2 units: up to 100% of the subject property's gross rent may be added to income. Owner-occupied, 3–4 units: up to 50% or a net approach. Other rentals: net rent, with a shortfall reducing what counts (CMHC rental income rules, published 2024-05-22).
- Other lenders generally add a share of rent to income or offset a share against the property's costs; the share varies by lender. The tool describes this in words and never estimates what you can borrow.
- No change in the home's price and no return is assumed. Every mortgage is subject to lender approval.
Rules checked 2026-10-26. Estimates only, not an offer or advice; a licensed broker confirms the numbers and every mortgage is subject to lender approval. Everything is calculated in your browser. The amounts you type are never sent to us.
Read next: Rental and investment · Does rental income count when I qualify?
Questions about the rental cash flow tool
Is a coverage of 1.0 enough?
Only just. At that coverage the rent carries the payment and the costs you entered, with nothing left for surprises. Lenders set their own tests, and a thin margin generally leaves less room to borrow. A broker can tell you how the lenders we work with would read it.
Why doesn't the tool show how much I can borrow?
Because what you can borrow depends on your whole application and on each lender's method for rental income, which varies. We describe the methods; the number comes from a broker pricing your mortgage, subject to lender approval.
Should I include my own unit's costs?
If you'll live in one unit, enter only the rent you'll collect and the costs of the whole building as you'll pay them. Then tick "I'll live in one of the units" for the rules that apply to owner-occupied homes.
More tools: Total cost of holding · Income as lenders see it · Bridge gap
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