Test a target rent in two separate ways: compare eligible household income with the agent’s referencing policy, then check the monthly cash left after rent and your own commitments.
Rent Affordability Calculator
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This is an estimate, not a referencing decision or legal or financial advice. Letting agents and landlords set their own affordability criteria. England-specific deposit rules are identified clearly.
Two checks, two different questions
A referencing calculation estimates whether evidenced gross income meets a landlord, agent or referencing provider’s policy. A personal budget checks whether the rent works alongside the costs that actually leave your bank account. Passing one does not mean you pass the other, and neither result guarantees acceptance.
How to enter household income
Add only applicants whose income will be assessed for this rent. Keep employment, self-employed or variable income, pension or benefit income and other income separate. Include a source only if the agent confirms it is eligible, and use the gross annual amount it will assess.
For a joint application, do not assume every income source will be combined or accepted at face value. Ask how probation, overtime, bonuses, benefits, pensions, bursaries, overseas income and self-employed profits are treated.
Choose the policy you were actually given
The presets are scenarios, not legal rules. A 30× policy means required gross annual income equals monthly rent multiplied by 30. Some providers use different figures or distinguish bills-included rent. Use the custom control when you have the provider’s exact multiple.
Understanding the budget result
Monthly cash after rent and commitments equals take-home pay minus the target rent, essentials and debt repayments. The calculator then compares that amount with your chosen spare-cash buffer. Enter realistic Council Tax, utilities, food, travel, childcare and other essentials; excluding a cost does not make it disappear.
The 30%, 35% and 40% figures are sensitivity scenarios based on gross monthly income. MoneyHelper describes 30% as a budgeting guide, and ONS uses 30% of gross household income as a statistical affordability threshold. Neither is a letting-agent approval rule or a universal recommendation.
Worked example
A household enters £36,000 eligible annual income and a target rent of £1,200. At 30×, the required income is exactly £36,000, so the income test is met with no surplus. The rent is 40% of £3,000 gross monthly income. The sensitivity figures are £900 at 30%, £1,050 at 35% and £1,200 at 40%.
If take-home pay is £2,500, essentials are £900 and debts are £0, £400 remains after rent and commitments. With a desired £250 buffer, £150 remains above that buffer. This is a cash-flow result, not permission to take the tenancy.
What can change the result?
- The provider’s income multiple and definition of eligible income.
- Whether joint applicants are combined or assessed separately.
- How variable, self-employed, benefit, pension or overseas income is evidenced.
- Your actual Council Tax, energy, travel, childcare, debt and irregular costs.
- Credit, identity, previous-landlord and England Right to Rent checks outside this calculator.
Sources and review
- MoneyHelper: how to find a rented home you can afford
- ONS: private rental affordability methodology and results
- GOV.UK: private-renting document checks in England
Calculation version: 1.4.0
Content reviewed: 20 July 2026
FigurePath provides scenario calculations, not a referencing decision or financial advice. Confirm the policy and eligible income directly with the landlord, agent or referencing provider.