How much does an empty unit really cost?
Lost rent is only part of the bill. Taxes, mortgage interest, condo fees, insurance, and maintained utilities keep running. Here's the real daily cost of a rental vacancy.
Scenario
Your inputs
30 d ≈ 1 month, 60 d ≈ 2 months
Annual taxes ($/year)
For this unit only (prorated).
Fixed monthly costs ($/month)
What you keep paying even with an empty unit.
Interest portion only (not principal)
Minimum heat, water, etc.
Enter monthly rent and vacancy duration to estimate total cost.
Beyond rent
The hidden costs of a vacancy
When a unit is empty, rent stops but expenses don't. For a typical Greater Montreal unit, these fixed costs add 25-40% on top of the apparent vacancy cost. That's the gap most owners never calculate.
Municipal and school taxes
Calculated annually on assessed value, regardless of occupancy. For an average 2-bedroom in Montreal: $2,500-$4,500/yr municipal + $400-$700/yr school — that's $8-$15/day combined no matter what.
Mortgage interest
The interest portion of your mortgage payment is money out without a return. For a $300,000 mortgage at 5%, that's roughly $1,250/month of pure interest. Over 30 days of vacancy, that's $1,250 to add to the math.
Condo fees (if applicable)
Common charges (maintenance, elevator, management, reserve fund) apply even with an empty unit. For a typical condo in Verdun or Laval-des-Rapides: $200-$400/month. The most invisible line item, but it adds up fast.
Insurance and maintained utilities
Landlord building insurance stays due (some carriers raise the premium beyond 30 days of vacancy). Minimum winter heating is mandatory to prevent pipe freezing. Water and common-area electricity stay connected.
Go further
Cut your vacancy
Concrete levers to minimize the gap between two tenants.
How to reduce rental vacancy in Montreal: 9 levers to rent faster
Main causes of prolonged vacancy, price levers, listing levers, viewing levers, and the method to go from a 6-week placement to 2-3 weeks.
What's the best season to rent your unit in Quebec?
The July 1 myth, the reality each month, demand peaks in Montreal, Laval and Longueuil, and the strategy by your availability date.
How to write a rental listing that attracts the right candidates
Listing structure that converts, words that attract serious profiles (and naturally filter the rest), Quebec legal compliance, and 10 mistakes that scare away good candidates.
How to pre-screen a serious tenant in Montreal
Pre-screening is the step that separates an efficient search from wasted time. Here's the complete method: qualifying questions, warning signals, and pitfalls to avoid — applied to the Montreal, Laval and Longueuil market.
Frequently asked questions
Practical answers for tenants and owners across Greater Montreal.
- Why include taxes and mortgage in vacancy cost?
- Because you keep paying them when the unit is empty. Municipal tax, school tax, mortgage interest, condo fees, insurance, and minimum heating run regardless of occupancy. Calculating vacancy as 'one month of lost rent' systematically underestimates the real loss by 25-40%.
- Why only mortgage interest (not principal)?
- Repaid principal stays your asset — you don't truly lose it, you convert it to equity in the property. Interest, however, is a pure expense: money out without a return. That's why the calculation only counts the interest portion of the monthly mortgage payment as a real vacancy cost.
- What's the average vacancy duration in Montreal, Laval, Longueuil?
- Without preparation: 4 to 8 weeks depending on neighbourhood and season. With professional listing (photos, optimized copy, rigorous pre-screening): 1 to 3 weeks in high season, 3 to 5 weeks off-season. The activity peak is April-June for July 1 move-ins — listing 60-90 days ahead delivers the best results.
- How does AA Location reduce vacancy?
- Four levers: (1) professional listing ready 48h after the mandate, (2) distribution on the right channels by neighbourhood (Plateau ≠ Saint-Hubert), (3) rigorous pre-screening that filters out non-serious candidates from first contact — no more wasted visits, (4) fast verification (2-5 days) of the finalist file. Net: typically cuts 2-3 weeks vs DIY placement.
- Is a placement service worth it vs DIY?
- Simple math: a specialized placement typically costs 50-100% of one month's rent (one-shot). If the service cuts vacancy by 2-3 weeks, the net cost is zero to negative (you recover more than the service costs). And that's before counting time saved on visits/screening and reduced bad-tenant risk.
- How do I factor vacancy into my investment yield calculation?
- A 3-5% vacancy provision in net yield is prudent in Montreal/Laval/Longueuil even in a tight market (vacancy < 2% since 2022). Natural turnovers around July 1 typically add 1-3 weeks per cycle. Our rental yield calculator (link below) lets you model that provision.
AA Location — Accelerated placement
Cut 2-3 weeks of vacancy per placement
Listing in 48h, rigorous pre-screening, fast verification, and lease signing coordinated by an OACIQ broker. Each avoided vacancy day pays for the service many times over.