A rent roll is a list of every lease in a property or portfolio with its key commercial terms — tenant, area, rent, escalations, expiry, deposit and dues — on a single sheet. It is the first document a lender, buyer or auditor asks for, and the quickest way for an owner or finance team to see the health of a portfolio.
Columns every commercial rent roll needs
| Column | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Property and unit | Where the lease is |
| Tenant and landlord | Who pays and who is paid (list co-owners on shared properties) |
| Chargeable area (sq ft) | The basis for rent per sq ft and CAM |
| Lease start, rent start, expiry | Rent start can differ from lease start after a rent-free fit-out |
| Lock-in end | The earliest date the tenant can leave without penalty |
| Current monthly rent and CAM | What is billed today, after any escalations |
| Escalation terms and next escalation date | When the rent goes up next, and by how much |
| Security deposit | Money held that must be returned or adjusted |
| Outstanding dues | Rent not yet collected |
A worked example
Three leases, as of 25 October 2026:
| Unit | Area (sq ft) | Monthly rent | Rent / sq ft | Expiry | Years left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office 501 | 4,200 | ₹2,20,500 | ₹52.50 | 31 Mar 2030 | 3.43 |
| Shop G-01 | 1,800 | ₹1,50,000 | ₹83.33 | 31 Oct 2033 | 7.02 |
| Warehouse W3 | 24,000 | ₹4,31,250 | ₹17.97 | 30 Jun 2032 | 5.68 |
| Total | 30,000 | ₹8,01,750 | ₹26.73 |
- Monthly rent roll = sum of monthly rents = ₹8,01,750; annual = ₹96,21,000.
- Average rent per sq ft = total rent ÷ total leased area = ₹8,01,750 ÷ 30,000 = ₹26.73 a month.
- WALE (weighted average lease expiry) — the average years left, weighted by rent — is about 5.3 years.
A longer WALE means more secure income; lenders and buyers watch it closely. A low WALE is a sign that several renewals are coming up together.
How to make a rent roll, step by step
- Start from the lease deeds, not from memory or old invoices — areas, dates and escalation clauses must match the signed documents.
- Enter one row per lease with the columns above. Keep dates as real dates so expiry and escalation calculations work.
- Apply escalations so "current rent" is today's rent, not the starting rent.
- Add the summary — total rent, leased vs total area (occupancy), average rent per sq ft, deposits held, dues and leases expiring in the next 90 or 180 days.
- Update it every month — new leases, renewals, escalations and payments received.
To skip the setup, download our free Rent Roll Excel template — it already has the columns, formulas for rent per sq ft, next escalation date and days to expiry, and a summary sheet with WALE.
Common rent roll mistakes
- Starting rent instead of current rent — escalations not applied.
- Mixed area bases — carpet area for some leases, super built-up for others, which distorts rent per sq ft.
- Forgotten part months — a lease that started or escalated mid-month billed for the full month.
- Stale data — a spreadsheet updated once a quarter is wrong for most of the quarter.
When a spreadsheet isn't enough
With more than a handful of leases, keeping the rent roll current by hand takes real time every month — and it drifts. LeaseHub360's Lease Tracker builds the rent roll from the leases themselves, with current rent, part months, next rent change, lock-in, expiry, deposits and dues, and exports it to CSV.
Frequently asked questions
What is a rent roll in real estate?
A list of every lease in a property or portfolio with its key terms — tenant, area, rent, escalation, expiry, deposit and dues — used by owners, lenders, buyers and auditors to understand the income from the property.
What is the difference between a rent roll and a lease abstract?
A lease abstract summarises one lease in detail. A rent roll lists all leases with their key figures so the whole portfolio can be seen at once.
What is WALE?
Weighted average lease expiry: the average number of years left on the leases, weighted by rent (or by area). It shows how secure the rental income is.
How often should a rent roll be updated?
At least monthly — whenever a lease starts, renews or ends, an escalation takes effect, or payments are received.
Setting up leases from their PDFs? AI lease extraction reads the parties, dates, rent, escalation, lock-in and notice period from the deed — you review each value beside its source page. See also: what is lease abstraction.
A rent roll that updates itself
LeaseHub360 builds your rent roll from live lease data — escalations, dues and expiries included.