Rental Property Cash Flow Calculator Calgary
A $350,000 two-bedroom at $1,850 a month, 20% down at 4.50%: −$637 a month.
Condo loads a $450 monthly fee. House drops the fee and adds a 5% capital reserve.
Price and rent
Add every unit's rent for a plex.
CMHC October 2025, Calgary CMA.
Financing
20% is the minimum on a rental you won't live in.
Preloaded at 4.5%: advertised 5-year fixed rates plus a typical rental premium.
Alberta land title and mortgage registration fees plus about $3,250 in legal, title and inspection.
Operating costs
Calgary's combined residential rate. Edmonton's is higher and its vacancy is lower — open the Edmonton cap rate calculator if the building is there.
Calgary condo contributions average about $0.56 per sq ft a month, often including heat and water.
0 if you self-manage. 8% is a typical fee.
Roof, windows, furnace. A condo's reserve fund covers the building.
Utilities you pay, accounting, licensing.
Monthly cash flow
−$637
Cash-on-cash
−10.3%
Cap rate
3.13%
Debt coverage
0.59
Break-even rent
$2,558 a month
Your rent is $708 short.
Down payment to break even
53% down
About $185,087 of equity before the rent covers every cost.
At renewal
One point higher (5.50%): −$796 a month. Two points higher (6.50%): −$963 a month.
What cash flow leaves out
Year one pays down $6,240 of principal. Cash flow plus that paydown is −$1,404, or −1.90% on the cash you put in, before appreciation and income tax.
Estimate for planning, not financial advice. Cash flow is before income tax. Rent rules: No provincial rent cap.
Calgary is the cheapest big-city entry: no land transfer tax and lower prices. The catch is vacancy. CMHC put purpose-built vacancy at 5.0% in 2025, the highest of the major markets, and turnover rents fell, so the vacancy and rent fields matter more here than the mortgage rate.
CMHC's 2025 report did not give a Calgary condo two-bedroom average, so only asking and purpose-built rents are shown.
Cash flow on a typical Calgary rental condo
Gross rent of $22,200, less $1,110 of vacancy and $10,137 of operating costs, leaves $10,953 of net operating income, a 3.13% cap rate. The mortgage takes $18,597. What is left is −$7,644 a year: a −10.3% cash-on-cash return on $73,980 invested, with debt coverage of 0.59.
Break-even rent
$2,558
Monthly rent for zero cash flow
Down to break even
53%
Equity needed at today’s rate
As a house or plex
−$280
No condo fee, 5% capital reserve, same price and rent
Year one also pays down $6,240 of principal. Counting that, the total year-one return is −$1,404 before appreciation and tax.
Which Calgary rent to put in
Most calculators take one rent figure and never say whose it is. There are 2 benchmarks for a Calgarytwo-bedroom, and they are not interchangeable. Asking rent is what a new tenant pays for a vacant unit. CMHC’s averages include tenants who moved in years ago at lower rents. Buying a condo to lease out, you will usually get close to asking rent; buying a building with tenants in place, you get the rent roll.
| Rent benchmark | Monthly rent | Cash flow / month | Cash-on-cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asking rentAverage two-bedroom asking rent, mid-2026: what a new tenant pays. | $1,850 | −$637 | −10.3% |
| CMHC purpose-built rentCMHC October 2025 purpose-built two-bedroom average, mostly sitting tenants. | $1,914 | −$579 | −9.40% |
Calgarycash flow at today’s rates and at renewal
The preload is 4.50%: advertised 5-year fixed rates of about 4.09% to 4.39% in mid-September 2026 plus a typical rental premium. A longer amortization lowers the payment but not the interest rate; a renewal one or two points higher is the risk a five-year term leaves you with.
| Financing | Payment | Cash flow / month |
|---|---|---|
| 4.50%, 25-year amortization (preloaded) | $1,550 | −$637 |
| 4.50%, 30-year amortization | $1,412 | −$499 |
| Renewal at 5.50% | $1,709 | −$796 |
| Renewal at 6.50% | $1,876 | −$963 |
| Down payment | Cash down | Cash flow / month | Cash-on-cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20% down | $70,000 | −$637 | −10.3% |
| 35% down | $122,500 | −$346 | −3.29% |
| 50% down | $175,000 | −$56 | −0.37% |
Uninsured rental mortgages qualify at the greater of 5.25% or the contract rate plus 2 points. Cash-on-cash includes closing costs in the cash invested.
Cash to close on a Calgary rental
- Down payment (20%)
- $70,000
- Alberta land title and mortgage registration fees
- $730
- Legal, title insurance, inspection
- $3,250
- Total
- $73,980
First-time buyer rebates do not apply to a property you won’t live in. If the deal runs negative, add a reserve for the shortfall: at −$637 a month, a year of carrying costs is $7,644.
Vacancy and rent rules in Calgary
Calgary's purpose-built vacancy was unchanged at 5.0% in 2025, the highest among major CMAs, even as the rental stock grew 11%. The top rent quartile sat at 6.7%. Turnover two-bedroom rent fell to $1,836 from $1,927. Condo vacancy was 2.2%.
No provincial rent cap
Alberta does not set an annual percentage cap on private residential rents. Increases still require proper notice. NOI can reprice at turnover, which makes the 5.0% vacancy field the binding constraint rather than a guideline.
- The $1,914 rent is CMHC's October 2025 purpose-built two-bedroom average for Calgary. Turnover rent actually fell year over year.
- Local intelligence told CMHC that lease-up incentives kept the headline vacancy from rising despite the supply jump. Asking rent on a new building is not sitting rent.
- Registration fees on closing are hundreds to a couple of thousand dollars, not Ontario land transfer tax.
Calgary rental cash flow FAQs
Does a rental property cash flow in Calgary?
Not on a typical leveraged purchase. A $350,000 two-bedroom condo rented at the $1,850 average asking rent, with 20% down at 4.50% over 25 years, comes to −$637 a month after vacancy, tax, insurance, maintenance and a $450 condo fee. Change the price, rent and fee to the listing you are looking at.
What rent do I need to break even on a Calgary rental?
About $2,558 a month on the preloaded $350,000 condo at 20% down. That is $708 above the average asking rent.
How much down payment makes a Calgary rental cash flow positive?
About 53% down, or roughly $185,500, before the average asking rent covers the mortgage and every operating cost at 4.50%.
How much cash do I need to buy a rental property in Calgary?
On a $350,000 purchase: $70,000 for the minimum 20% down, about $730 in Alberta land title and mortgage registration fees, and roughly $3,250 for legal, title insurance and inspection, or about $73,980 in total before any reserve for negative cash flow.
Is there rent control in Calgary?
Alberta does not set an annual percentage cap on private residential rents. Increases still require proper notice. NOI can reprice at turnover, which makes the 5.0% vacancy field the binding constraint rather than a guideline.
What vacancy rate should I use for a Calgary rental?
Calgary's purpose-built vacancy was unchanged at 5.0% in 2025, the highest among major CMAs, even as the rental stock grew 11%. The top rent quartile sat at 6.7%. Turnover two-bedroom rent fell to $1,836 from $1,927. Condo vacancy was 2.2%.
Nearby cities
Cash flow calculators for other cities
Every city side by side is on the Canada rental property cash flow calculator.
How the method works
The Canada rental property cash flow calculator explains the formula, the 1% and 50% rules, down payment rules for rentals and how rental income is taxed, and ranks all ten cities on the same deal.
Sources
- CMHC 2025 Rental Market Report (Calgary CMA vacancy 5.0%, 2-bed rent $1,914)
- Bank of Canada: policy rate held at 2.25% (September 2, 2026)
- Ratehub: advertised 5-year fixed rates
- nesto: Canadian mortgage rates
- bestrates.ca: investment property rates run 0.20% to 0.60% above owner-occupied
- CMHC: Income Property mortgage loan insurance
- OSFI: Clarifying guidance on rental income and mortgage classification (2025)
- Rentals.ca National Rent Report (asking rents)
- CRA: Rental Income guide (T4036)
- Urbanation and CIBC: GTA Condo Investment Report (July 2024)
- CBC News: More than half of GTA condo investors losing money (2023)
Rates checked September 13, 2026. CMHC rents and vacancy are from the October 2025 Rental Market Survey; asking rents are mid-2026 averages compiled from Rentals.ca and CMHC. Condo fees are city averages per square foot on an 800sq ft two-bedroom. This calculator is an estimate for planning, not financial or tax advice. Replace every preload with the listing, the lease and the lender’s quote.