In this portion of the Rents and Income tab, enter data related to the yearly increase in rents and as well as the percentage of units vacant at any given time. The rent projections table contains three columns for information on HOME units, market rate units, and other affordable units, respectively.

Rent Increase per Year is the estimated percentage rent increase per year for HOME-assisted, market rate, and other affordable units. To estimate the rate of rent increase, investigate how HOME and other affordable housing program rent limits have changed over the past few years and how market rate rents have changed, as well.

To estimate the rate of rent increases for HOME units, evaluate your jurisdiction's HOME rents over the last several years. To estimate the rate of rent increase for market rate units, consult a project market study of the area.

Data on the rent limits for other affordable housing programs is available from the administering agency.

Vacancy Year 1 (Lease-Up) is the approximate percentage of units that will be vacant in Year 1 of the properties operation. Many projects have a higher vacancy rate during their first year, due to the time needed to find tenants for the newly available units (a period known as "lease-up"). PJs can consult with property managers in the area to get a sense of typical lease-up timeframes and vacancy rates.

Stabilized Vacancy Rate (after Year 1) is the approximate percentage of units that will be vacant, on average, for Year 2 and afterward. A typical project may have an overall average vacancy of approximately 5 percent, but every project is different and it is important to carefully estimate the correct vacancy rate. Conduct a project market analysis to estimate average vacancy.