Continue your plan
Useful next calculations
Rates & sources
A user-entered comparison of rent over the same period and direct moving costs. It keeps the temporary deposit cash gap separate from rent, but does not determine legal rights, notice, deposit deductions or affordability.
Source: GOV.UK — Private renting — check the linked guidance and any live quote before acting.
When to use this calculator
- Before buying, renting, refinancing, or reviewing a property investment.
- When you want to compare cash flow, yield, growth, and ownership costs side by side.
- When you need a fast estimate before speaking to an agent, lender, or adviser.
- When you are assessing whether a rental property still makes financial sense after a mortgage rate change.
- When you want to compare the total cost of renting against owning over a five- or ten-year horizon.
A realistic UK planning example
Use these sample inputs as a quick scenario test, then change one variable at a time to compare outcomes.
Current monthly rent (£)
6
Proposed monthly rent (£)
6
Moving and setup costs (£)
£500
After entering these figures, review monthly rent difference and first-month rent + move cost together rather than in isolation — each metric tells a different part of the story. Then rerun the tool with one input adjusted to see which variable has the biggest effect on all three outputs before you settle on a plan.
How to read your results
Monthly Rent Difference
Use this metric to compare scenarios side by side and understand how changes in the key inputs drive the final outcome. If the figure surprises you, isolate one variable at a time and rerun the calculation to identify which assumption is responsible.
First-Month Rent + Move Cost
Use this metric to compare scenarios side by side and understand how changes in the key inputs drive the final outcome. If the figure surprises you, isolate one variable at a time and rerun the calculation to identify which assumption is responsible.
Method & assumptionsAuthoritative sources
This planner compares the same number of rental months in a current and proposed home. It adds entered one-off moving and setup costs to the moving route and separately shows the temporary cash gap between a new deposit and the old deposit expected back.
A tenancy deposit is not treated as rent, because it is normally held and may later be returned subject to the tenancy terms. The tool does not guess deductions, notice periods, rent-review rules, utility bills or commuting changes.
Check the tenancy agreement, deposit-protection information and official local renter guidance before giving notice or committing to a new home.
Common mistakes
- !Comparing rent and ownership costs without including taxes, fees, and maintenance.
- !Using purchase price alone without testing the impact of financing or vacancy assumptions.
- !Relying on yield or growth in isolation instead of reviewing the full property case.
- !Forgetting Stamp Duty Land Tax (or its Scottish and Welsh equivalents), which can add thousands to the true cost of purchase.
- !Using optimistic rental growth figures without also testing a flat or declining rent scenario to check downside resilience.
What to do next
- Run a second scenario with a higher rate or lower rental yield to check downside resilience.
- Compare the result with a buy-versus-rent or stamp duty calculator before making an offer.
- Use the related guides below to understand agent fees, legal costs, and ongoing maintenance budgets.
- If you are assessing a buy-to-let, check the gross yield against the net yield after mortgage interest, voids, and management fees.
- Note down the key figures from this scenario to share with your solicitor or mortgage broker so they are working from the same assumptions.
Frequently asked
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