Tenvale

Free landlord tool

Rent Affordability Calculator

Check whether a rent fits a tenant’s income using the 30%-of-income rule and the 3x-rent guideline. These are industry rules of thumb to gauge ability to pay — not legal limits. Updates as you type.

Massachusetts fair-housing note:source of income — including Section 8 and other housing vouchers — is a protected class under G.L. c.151B. Vouchers count as lawful income, and these ratios must be applied consistently to every applicant (for voucher holders, against the tenant’s share of the rent). They are guidelines, not a screening shortcut. See Rent affordability without breaking MA fair-housing law.

Income & rent

The 30% rule of thumb is the common default. Adjust to your own policy.

Result

Monthly income
$5,000.00

Annual income ÷ 12

Max rent at 30%
$1,500.00

Guideline ceiling, not a legal limit

Rent-to-income ratio
36.0%

Rule of thumb: ≤ 30%

Income-to-rent multiple
2.78x

Rule of thumb: ≥ 3x rent

Above the 30% guideline. Rent exceeds the threshold of monthly income.
Below the 3x-rent guideline. Income is less than three times the rent.
How this is calculated

The 30% rule. A common screening heuristic holds that housing should take up no more than about 30% of gross (pre-tax) income. maxRent = monthlyIncome × threshold% / 100. Annual income is divided by 12 to get monthly income.

The 3x-rent rule. Many landlords also look for gross income of at least three times the monthly rent. incomeMultiple = monthlyIncome / monthlyRent, compared against 3.

These are guidelines, not law. Massachusetts has no statutory rent-to-income cap. The 30% and 3x figures are conventions used to gauge ability to pay. Whatever criteria you apply must comply with fair-housing law and be applied consistently to every applicant.

Tenvale keeps screening consistent

Standardize applications, income checks, and screening criteria across every unit — so the same rules apply to every applicant.

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