Rent Increase and Rent vs Buy Scenario Tool

Two questions come up again and again: what rent can I ask at the next renewals, and would I be better off buying than renting? This app works both out from your own assumptions.

The planner takes the current rent, the market rent and its growth, and the rule you enter as bands (for example: if the rent is 20% or more below market, the most you may increase is 8%). For each year it shows the gap to market, your limit, what you would ask, what is applied and the rent for the year, with a line chart of market against your rent. It does not know the rule: the example bands are made up, and you replace them with the rule you have confirmed.

The rent vs buy tool compares owning with renting each year. The renter invests the cash the buyer would have put in (down payment, purchase costs, loan fee) at the return you enter, and the monthly difference between owning costs and rent is added to or taken from that portfolio. Owner wealth is the value after selling costs less the loan. The table, chart and break-even year show who is ahead.

What is inside:

• Rent increase planner with an editable band table, up to 10 years, print
• Rent vs buy with owner wealth against renter portfolio, up to 30 years, print
• Example data, README, JSON import and CSV import and export of the bands
• Both tools checked against independent Decimal calculations in 60 random cases each

The rent increase rule or cap is yours to enter and check with RERA, the Rental Dispute Centre or your lawyer. The result of rent vs buy depends heavily on value growth and the return on cash, so change them and watch. No tax or rent-to-income limits are modelled. The tenancy renewal tracker in this series handles dates and notices; this tool handles the numbers.

This is a working tool, not legal, tax or financial advice, and it is not connected to or approved by any government body, regulator or bank. The app stores data in the browser on one device, so back it up with Export.