Rental Yield Calculator
Calculate gross and net rental yield from property value, rent and running costs — plus cash-on-cash return on your actual deposit.
About the Rental Yield Calculator
Rental yield measures how hard a property's price works as an income investment. Enter the property value, the monthly rent and your annual running costs, and this calculator returns the gross yield (annual rent ÷ value), the net yield (after costs) and — if you enter the cash you actually invested — the cash-on-cash return on your deposit and fees.
Gross yield is the headline number agents quote, but net yield is the honest one: maintenance, insurance, property taxes, management fees and a vacancy allowance routinely consume 20–35% of rent. Cash-on-cash goes a step further for leveraged buyers, measuring net income against only the money you put in rather than the full price.
Yields vary by market and property type — city apartments often gross 3–6%, higher-risk or higher-effort segments more. Use consistent, realistic cost assumptions when comparing properties, and remember this simplified model excludes mortgage interest, tax on rental income and capital growth.
How to Use the Rental Yield Calculator
- 1Enter the property value or purchase price.
- 2Enter the monthly rent you charge or expect.
- 3Add annual running costs (maintenance, insurance, taxes, management, vacancy).
- 4Optionally enter your cash invested to see the cash-on-cash return.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate rental yield? A worked example
A 250,000 property renting at 1,400/month earns 16,800/year, so gross yield = 16,800 ÷ 250,000 × 100 = 6.72%. With 4,800 of annual costs, net income is 12,000 and net yield = 4.8%.
What is the difference between gross and net yield?
Gross yield ignores costs; net yield subtracts them first. The gap is typically 1.5–2.5 percentage points and grows for older properties and managed lets. Two properties with identical 6.7% gross yields can differ sharply in net yield once repairs, management and vacancies are counted — always compare on net.
What is cash-on-cash return?
Net annual income divided by the cash you personally invested. If you bought the property above with a 62,500 deposit plus 7,500 in fees (70,000 cash), cash-on-cash = 12,000 ÷ 70,000 = 17.1% before mortgage interest — leverage amplifies the return on your own money (and the risk).
What is a good rental yield?
Context-dependent: prime city apartments often gross 3–5% (betting partly on capital growth), regional and secondary markets 6–8%+, and specialist segments like student lets higher still with more work. Compare net yield against local averages and against what the same cash earns in low-effort alternatives.
What costs should I include in annual running costs?
Maintenance and repairs (often budgeted at ~1% of property value per year), landlord insurance, property taxes or service charges, letting and management fees (usually 8–12% of rent if managed), safety certificates, and a vacancy allowance — one empty month cuts annual rent by 8.3%. Excluding these is how gross yield flatters a deal.