Rental Property Cash Flow Calculator Montreal
A $380,000 two-bedroom at $2,150 a month, 20% down at 4.50%: −$400 a month.
Condo loads a $360 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, Montréal 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.
Montréal welcome tax plus about $3,250 in legal, title and inspection.
Operating costs
Starter assumption of 0.75% of value. Montréal's combined municipal and school rate varies by borough — replace with the tax bill.
Starter assumption of $0.45 per sq ft a month for condo fees; replace it with the syndicate's budget.
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
−$400
Cash-on-cash
−5.77%
Cap rate
4.05%
Debt coverage
0.76
Break-even rent
$2,584 a month
Your rent is $434 short.
Down payment to break even
40% down
About $148,254 of equity before the rent covers every cost.
At renewal
One point higher (5.50%): −$573 a month. Two points higher (6.50%): −$754 a month.
What cash flow leaves out
Year one pays down $6,775 of principal. Cash flow plus that paydown is +$1,976, or 2.38% 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: TAL formula, not a flat cap.
Montréal has lower prices than Toronto or Vancouver, and its sitting rents are the lowest of the big CMAs. Rent increases on sitting tenants follow the Tribunal administratif du logement's calculation, so an in-place lease grows on Quebec's schedule, not the market's. The welcome tax is billed after closing, but it is still cash in.
Plexes are Montréal's classic rental. Switch to house or plex and enter the rent from every unit; new buildings are exempt from TAL rent-fixing for five years.
Cash flow on a typical Montreal rental condo
Gross rent of $25,800, less $748 of vacancy and $9,660 of operating costs, leaves $15,392 of net operating income, a 4.05% cap rate. The mortgage takes $20,191. What is left is −$4,799 a year: a −5.77% cash-on-cash return on $83,104 invested, with debt coverage of 0.76.
Break-even rent
$2,584
Monthly rent for zero cash flow
Down to break even
40%
Equity needed at today’s rate
As a house or plex
−$147
No condo fee, 5% capital reserve, same price and rent
Year one also pays down $6,775 of principal. Counting that, the total year-one return is +$1,976 before appreciation and tax.
Which Montreal rent to put in
Most calculators take one rent figure and never say whose it is. There are 3 benchmarks for a Montrealtwo-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. | $2,150 | −$400 | −5.77% |
| CMHC condo rentCMHC October 2025 average for two-bedroom condos rented out by owners. | $1,826 | −$698 | −10.1% |
| CMHC purpose-built rentCMHC October 2025 purpose-built two-bedroom average, mostly sitting tenants. | $1,346 | −$1,140 | −16.5% |
Montrealcash 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) | $1,683 | −$400 |
| 4.50%, 30-year amortization | $1,533 | −$250 |
| Renewal at 5.50% | $1,856 | −$573 |
| Renewal at 6.50% | $2,036 | −$754 |
| Down payment | Cash down | Cash flow / month | Cash-on-cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20% down | $76,000 | −$400 | −5.77% |
| 35% down | $133,000 | −$84 | −0.72% |
| 50% down | $190,000 | +$231 | 1.41% |
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 Montreal rental
- Down payment (20%)
- $76,000
- Montréal welcome tax
- $3,854
- Legal, title insurance, inspection
- $3,250
- Total
- $83,104
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 −$400 a month, a year of carrying costs is $4,799.
Vacancy and rent rules in Montreal
Greater Montréal's purpose-built vacancy rose for a second year to 2.9% in 2025. Newly built units ran well above that; the cheapest quartile stayed scarce. Rental condos were 2.1% vacant with a $1,826 two-bedroom average.
TAL formula, not a flat cap
Quebec has no single legislated annual cap. The Tribunal administratif du logement publishes a calculation. In 2025 the recommended increase was a record 5.9%, and CMHC says that is why Montréal sitting-tenant rents rose 7.2% even as vacancy increased. New buildings are exempt from TAL rent-fixing for five years.
- The $1,346 rent is CMHC's October 2025 purpose-built two-bedroom average for the Montréal CMA, up 7.2%. Turnover two-bedrooms were $1,644.
- Québec City's purpose-built vacancy was 2.4% with a $1,277 two-bedroom average. Change both fields if the building is there.
- The welcome tax (duties on transfers) is billed after closing. Run it on the Quebec land transfer tax calculator.
Montreal rental cash flow FAQs
Does a rental property cash flow in Montreal?
Not on a typical leveraged purchase. A $380,000 two-bedroom condo rented at the $2,150 average asking rent, with 20% down at 4.50% over 25 years, comes to −$400 a month after vacancy, tax, insurance, maintenance and a $360 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 Montreal rental?
About $2,584 a month on the preloaded $380,000 condo at 20% down. That is $434 above the average asking rent.
How much down payment makes a Montreal rental cash flow positive?
About 40% down, or roughly $152,000, 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 Montreal?
On a $380,000 purchase: $76,000 for the minimum 20% down, about $3,854 in Montréal welcome tax, and roughly $3,250 for legal, title insurance and inspection, or about $83,104 in total before any reserve for negative cash flow.
Is there rent control in Montreal?
Quebec has no single legislated annual cap. The Tribunal administratif du logement publishes a calculation. In 2025 the recommended increase was a record 5.9%, and CMHC says that is why Montréal sitting-tenant rents rose 7.2% even as vacancy increased. New buildings are exempt from TAL rent-fixing for five years.
What vacancy rate should I use for a Montreal rental?
Greater Montréal's purpose-built vacancy rose for a second year to 2.9% in 2025. Newly built units ran well above that; the cheapest quartile stayed scarce. Rental condos were 2.1% vacant with a $1,826 two-bedroom average.
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 (Montréal CMA vacancy 2.9%, 2-bed rent $1,346)
- CMHC: Rent Control and the Affordability of Rental Housing in Canada (2025)
- 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.