Rental Property Cash Flow Calculator Toronto
A $650,000 two-bedroom at $2,700 a month, 20% down at 4.50%: −$1,526 a month.
Condo loads a $600 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, Toronto 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.
Ontario and Toronto land transfer tax plus about $3,250 in legal, title and inspection.
Operating costs
Toronto's combined residential rate. The 905 is higher — Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, and Ottawa each have their own cap rate page with that city's mill rate loaded.
Toronto maintenance fees average about $0.75 per sq ft a month.
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
−$1,526
Cash-on-cash
−12.0%
Cap rate
2.50%
Debt coverage
0.47
Break-even rent
$4,359 a month
Your rent is $1,659 short.
Down payment to break even
63% down
About $405,785 of equity before the rent covers every cost.
At renewal
One point higher (5.50%): −$1,822 a month. Two points higher (6.50%): −$2,131 a month.
What cash flow leaves out
Year one pays down $11,588 of principal. Cash flow plus that paydown is −$6,729, or −4.42% 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: 2.1% guideline, vacancy decontrol on most post-2018 units.
Toronto is where leveraged cash flow breaks first. Condo prices ran ahead of rents, maintenance fees are among the highest in Canada, and the city adds a second, municipal land transfer tax on closing. A two-bedroom bought with the minimum 20% down usually needs a monthly top-up; investors here are betting on principal paydown and appreciation, not income.
A house with a legal basement or garden suite is a different calculation. Switch to house or plex and enter the combined rent from both units.
Cash flow on a typical Toronto rental condo
Gross rent of $32,400, less $972 of vacancy and $15,208 of operating costs, leaves $16,220 of net operating income, a 2.50% cap rate. The mortgage takes $34,537. What is left is −$18,316 a year: a −12.0% cash-on-cash return on $152,200 invested, with debt coverage of 0.47.
Break-even rent
$4,359
Monthly rent for zero cash flow
Down to break even
63%
Equity needed at today’s rate
As a house or plex
−$1,061
No condo fee, 5% capital reserve, same price and rent
Year one also pays down $11,588 of principal. Counting that, the total year-one return is −$6,728 before appreciation and tax.
Which Toronto rent to put in
Most calculators take one rent figure and never say whose it is. There are 3 benchmarks for a Torontotwo-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. | $2,700 | −$1,526 | −12.0% |
| CMHC condo rentCMHC October 2025 average for two-bedroom condos rented out by owners. | $2,904 | −$1,339 | −10.6% |
| CMHC purpose-built rentCMHC October 2025 purpose-built two-bedroom average, mostly sitting tenants. | $2,034 | −$2,139 | −16.9% |
Torontocash 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) | $2,878 | −$1,526 |
| 4.50%, 30-year amortization | $2,622 | −$1,270 |
| Renewal at 5.50% | $3,174 | −$1,822 |
| Renewal at 6.50% | $3,483 | −$2,131 |
| Down payment | Cash down | Cash flow / month | Cash-on-cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20% down | $130,000 | −$1,526 | −12.0% |
| 35% down | $227,500 | −$987 | −4.74% |
| 50% down | $325,000 | −$447 | −1.55% |
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 Toronto rental
- Down payment (20%)
- $130,000
- Ontario and Toronto land transfer tax
- $18,950
- Legal, title insurance, inspection
- $3,250
- Total
- $152,200
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 −$1,526 a month, a year of carrying costs is $18,316.
Vacancy and rent rules in Toronto
CMHC's 2025 Rental Market Report put the Toronto CMA purpose-built vacancy rate at 3.0% — the first time it has hit 3% since the pandemic. Rental condos stayed at 1.0%. Old Toronto held steadier than the rest of the CMA; post-secondary neighbourhoods in Mississauga and Brampton climbed above 4%.
2.1% guideline, vacancy decontrol on most post-2018 units
Ontario's 2026 rent increase guideline is 2.1% for units that are covered. Units first occupied after 15 November 2018 are exempt, and on a covered unit you can still reset the rent to market when the tenant leaves. A cap-rate model that grows in-place rent with inflation is only true for the exempt stock.
- The $2,034 rent is CMHC's October 2025 purpose-built two-bedroom average for the Toronto CMA — sitting tenants, not asking rent on a vacant unit. Condo two-bedrooms averaged $2,904.
- A 3% vacancy line is the CMA average. Downsview (York University) went from 0.7% in 2023 to 3.1% in 2025. Old Toronto did not.
- Toronto charges a full municipal land transfer tax on top of Ontario's. Cap rate ignores both.
Toronto rental cash flow FAQs
Does a rental property cash flow in Toronto?
Not on a typical leveraged purchase. A $650,000 two-bedroom condo rented at the $2,700 average asking rent, with 20% down at 4.50% over 25 years, comes to −$1,526 a month after vacancy, tax, insurance, maintenance and a $600 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 Toronto rental?
About $4,359 a month on the preloaded $650,000 condo at 20% down. That is $1,659 above the average asking rent.
How much down payment makes a Toronto rental cash flow positive?
About 63% down, or roughly $409,500, 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 Toronto?
On a $650,000 purchase: $130,000 for the minimum 20% down, about $18,950 in Ontario and Toronto land transfer tax, and roughly $3,250 for legal, title insurance and inspection, or about $152,200 in total before any reserve for negative cash flow.
Is there rent control in Toronto?
Ontario's 2026 rent increase guideline is 2.1% for units that are covered. Units first occupied after 15 November 2018 are exempt, and on a covered unit you can still reset the rent to market when the tenant leaves. A cap-rate model that grows in-place rent with inflation is only true for the exempt stock.
What vacancy rate should I use for a Toronto rental?
CMHC's 2025 Rental Market Report put the Toronto CMA purpose-built vacancy rate at 3.0% — the first time it has hit 3% since the pandemic. Rental condos stayed at 1.0%. Old Toronto held steadier than the rest of the CMA; post-secondary neighbourhoods in Mississauga and Brampton climbed above 4%.
Nearby cities
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 (Toronto CMA vacancy 3.0%, 2-bed rent $2,034)
- Ontario: 2026 rent increase guideline is 2.1%
- 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.