# Rent Affordability Calculator Work out affordable rent from income using the 30% rule or a custom ratio, with debts, gross-vs-net handling, guideline ranges, and money left over. ## Run it - **CLI:** `gizza tool rent-affordability 'income=60000'` - **Web:** https://gizza.ai/tools/rent-affordability/ - **Agents:** machine-readable descriptor (parameters JSON Schema) at https://gizza.ai/tools/rent-affordability/tool.json ## Inputs - `income` — Income _(field)_ - `income_period` — Income period (annual | monthly) _(field)_ - `income_type` — Income type (gross | net) _(field)_ - `tax_rate_percent` — Assumed tax rate (% — for net income) _(field)_ - `rent_to_income_ratio` — Rent-to-income ratio (%) _(field)_ - `monthly_debts` — Existing monthly debts _(field)_ - `max_dti_ratio` — Max debt-to-income (%) _(field)_ - `currency` — Currency symbol _(field)_ - `decimals` — Decimal places _(field)_ ## Output - Affordability breakdown (text) ## Query parameters Open the tool pre-filled and auto-run via URL: - `income` — Income - `income_period` — Income period (annual | monthly) - `income_type` — Income type (gross | net) - `tax_rate_percent` — Assumed tax rate (% — for net income) - `rent_to_income_ratio` — Rent-to-income ratio (%) - `monthly_debts` — Existing monthly debts - `max_dti_ratio` — Max debt-to-income (%) - `currency` — Currency symbol - `decimals` — Decimal places Example: `https://gizza.ai/tools/rent-affordability/?income=60000&income_period=annual&income_type=gross&tax_rate_percent=25&rent_to_income_ratio=30&monthly_debts=0&max_dti_ratio=36¤cy=%24&decimals=2` --- ## About this tool This calculator estimates the **maximum monthly rent you can comfortably afford** from your income. By default it applies the classic **30% rule** — housing should take at most 30% of your gross (pre-tax) monthly income — but you can dial the rent-to-income ratio anywhere from 10% to 50% to match a landlord's requirement or your own comfort level. It goes beyond a single number: - **Debt-adjusted ceiling.** Add your existing monthly debt payments and a back-end debt-to-income cap (36% by default). The recommended rent is the *smaller* of the 30%-rule figure and `gross monthly income × DTI% − debts`, so real obligations pull the number down the way lenders and landlords expect. - **Gross vs. net.** Enter take-home (net) pay and an assumed tax rate, and it grosses the figure up before applying the ratio — because landlords screen on pre-tax income. - **A guideline range, not one bare figure.** You get conservative (25%), moderate (30%) and aggressive (35%) anchors, the income-to-rent multiple landlords look for (about 3.3× rent at 30%), and how much is left over each month. Everything runs locally in your browser — nothing you type is uploaded. The tax gross-up is a flat assumed rate, not a jurisdiction tax table, and there are no live local listings; it's a budgeting guide, not financial advice. ## FAQ
What is the 30% rule for rent? The 30% rule is a long-standing budgeting guideline that says your rent should be no more than **30% of your gross (pre-tax) monthly income**. On a $60,000 salary — about $5,000 a month — that works out to roughly **$1,500 a month** in rent. It's a starting point, not a hard limit: this tool lets you set any ratio from 10% to 50%.
Should I use gross or net income? Most landlords and the 30% rule use **gross (pre-tax)** income, which is why that's the default. If you only know your **take-home (net)** pay, switch the income type to *net* and set an assumed tax rate — the calculator grosses the figure back up before applying the ratio. The gross-up is a single flat rate, not a full progressive-tax calculation.
How do existing debts change the result? Enter your recurring monthly debt payments (car loan, student loans, minimum credit-card payments) and a **back-end debt-to-income (DTI) cap** — 36% is a common lender threshold. The calculator computes a debt-adjusted ceiling of `gross monthly income × DTI% − debts` and recommends the **smaller** of that and the plain rent-to-income figure. More debt means a lower recommended rent.
What income multiple do landlords want? Many landlords require your **gross income to be about 3× the rent** (sometimes 2.5× or 3.5×). The 30% rule is the same thing from the other direction — 30% of income as rent is an income-to-rent multiple of about **3.3×**. The tool reports this multiple so you can check a listing's stated requirement at a glance.
Is this financial advice? No. It's a budgeting guideline that runs entirely in your browser. It uses a flat assumed tax rate rather than real jurisdiction tax tables, doesn't know your local cost of living or utility costs, and doesn't pull live rental listings. Treat the result as a planning starting point and adjust for your own situation.
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