Calculate rental yield: gross and costs separately
How much of the basic rent remains before financing and taxes? Compare a disclosed return scenario rather than a single percentage.
Calculate rental yield scenario
Adjustable example values, not market data or bank terms. The calculation runs only in your browser; inputs are neither stored nor transmitted. No calculation of your personal tax.
Your result
Our own calculation based on your inputs and the stated assumptions.
- Cost-adjusted return before financing and taxes
- 2,73 %
- Annual surplus before financing and taxes
- 9.000,00 €
- Annual rent excluding service charges
- 12.000 €
- Loss of rent
- -600 €
- Owner costs
- -2.400 €
- Surplus
- 9.000 €
Bars show the amounts of your entries in relation to each other. Negative values are marked with minus signs.
Gross yield ignores costs and lost rent. The cost-adjusted yield accounts for your cost assumptions and total budget. The surplus is not the amount left after loan payments and tax: check financing, personal tax and additional repairs separately.
Calculation method and other values
- Annual rent excluding service charges
- 12.000,00 €
- Assumed loss of rent
- 600,00 €
- Annual ownership costs and reserves
- 2.400,00 €
- Purchase price including additional costs
- 330.000,00 €
- Gross rental yield on the purchase price
- 4 %
Scenario calculated. Results are in the Your Result section.
Gross rental yield: twelve basic rents in relation to the purchase price
The gross rental yield is annual net rent ÷ purchase price ×100. It is a quick comparison figure, but excludes additional costs, loss of rent, administration and maintenance. The calculator uses the net rent without advance payments for operating costs. With 300,000 € purchase price and 1,000 € monthly rent, this results in 12,000 € annual rent and 4 % gross rental yield. These numbers are a calculation example, not a measured rent level in Düsseldorf.
Cost-adjusted return: total budget as a reference value
Our second metric is: (annual basic rent − lost rent − annual owner-borne costs and reserves) ÷ (purchase price + acquisition costs) × 100. Lost rent equals annual basic rent multiplied by your assumed percentage. With 30,000 € acquisition costs, 5% lost rent and 2,400 € annual costs, the example leaves 9,000 €; divided by 330,000 €, this gives around 2.73%. We call this cost-adjusted yield: “net yield” is used differently and may include further items.
What expenses are included in the ownership costs?
Use documented amounts for costs not passed on to tenants, management and planned maintenance. For an apartment, the entire owners' service charge is not automatically a cost borne economically by the landlord. Check the owners' association budget and accounts, separate recoverable items from ownership costs and do not count a reserve twice. Allow for irregular repairs as an annual planning amount, and include a larger special assessment separately in the acquisition budget.
Test vacancies and costs as scenarios
For example, change lost rent from 0% to 5% and 10%; these are scenarios, not forecasts. Also try higher costs. A negative cost-adjusted yield is shown rather than capped at zero, helping you see whether your assumptions use up the ongoing surplus. Check the actual property’s contractual rent, tenancy law, demand and condition. An asking rent in a listing is not guaranteed income.
Return is neither liquidity nor investment recommendation
This simplified model excludes loan interest, repayments, income tax, depreciation, sale proceeds and changes in value. A positive surplus before financing can become negative after loan payments. Repayment reduces liquidity but also reduces debt, so cash flow and yield are not the same. A personal investment decision needs a complete financing and tax assessment. The calculator gives no rating and promises no target return.
Buying and renting out an apartment: first the property, then the return
Compare the documented floor area, condition, owners' service charge and existing tenancies with the purchase price. A desired future rent is not guaranteed income. Check ownership costs, foreseeable work and reserves separately; operating-cost advances are not additional rental profit. For a house, the building and land are considered together. The calculator organises your assumptions but assesses neither tenant creditworthiness nor the building's condition or lawful rent.
Buying and renting a house: also take unfavorable scenarios into account
Compare your starting assumptions with lower income, more vacancies or higher ownership costs. Note which data is documented and which is estimated. Financing payments and personal taxes also belong in cash-flow planning; a positive yield before these items does not prove a positive account balance. A separate scenario tool helps compare selling and letting. A calculation is neither a recommendation to buy nor a promise of future returns.
Related tools and background information
Data sources
Official source · Our own calculation · Our own analysis · DDORF estimate → Methodology
- Official source§ 28 WEG: Wirtschaftsplan und JahresabrechnungBasis for the documented costs of a condominiumView source(opens new window)
- Our own calculationOur own calculationOur own calculation based on your inputs and the stated assumptions; not a market forecast.View source