One of the most commonly asked questions our clients ask us is, “how much can I really afford in rent based on what I make any other expenses?” Although there are a lot of factors that go into this answer, there is a simple rule that serves as a guideline to keep your rent in budget both for yourself and your landlord. It is called the “Rule of 36.”
Rule of 36
In order for a landlord to feel secure with you as a renter in Boston, they typically assume that a person should not spend more than 1/3 of their income on rent. Staying around 33% allows people to pay their rent and still have money to spend on the other things they need in life. To make this math simple, you can easily take your annual income and divide it by 36. Like this:
- If the monthly rent of an apartment is $2,000, then 3 times the monthly rent is $2000 x 3 = $6000 (monthly income required to keep housing payments less than 1/3 of income)
- $6000 x 12 months = $72,000 (annual income required to keep housing payments under 1/3 of income)
- Backtracking with the annual income and monthly rent from above, you can see $72,000 / $2,000 = 36
- Hence the Rule of 36!
What if I have Roommates?
If you have roommates, the rule stays the same – you just add up all the incomes and work the math the same way. As an example, if you make combined $100,000 per year, then divide that by 36 to get $100,000 / 36 = $2777 in monthly rent that you can afford together. It is as simple as that!
Get your search started!
Now that you know what you can spend, it is time to get your search started. We have the most comprehensive list of apartments on the market in Boston – many listings found exclusively with us.
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