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How to set the right rent with comparable rentals (comps)

Price too high and the unit sits empty; price too low and you give money away every month. Here's how to find comparable rentals, adjust them to your unit and turn them into an asking rent.

Updated October 20, 2026 · by Tidy Landlord

What a comp is

A comparable rental, or comp, is a unit like yours, in the same area, rented or advertised recently. Good comps match on location, type (apartment, duplex unit, house), bedrooms and bathrooms, and roughly on size and condition. The closer the match, the less you have to adjust and the more you can trust the result.

Step 1: Collect 10 to 20 comps

  • Leased rents beat asking rents. A listing shows what a landlord hopes to get; a signed lease shows what someone actually paid. Ask a property manager or local landlords, and use your own recent leases.
  • Recent beats old. Rents move with the season and the market, so favour comps from the last few months.
  • Note everything that changes the rent: size, parking, laundry, which utilities are included, condition, and any move-in special.

Public data can tell you whether your comps are in the right range, but it isn't an asking rent. In the US, HUD's Fair Market Rents are estimates of 40th percentile gross rents for standard-quality units in a metro area or county, used for programs like Housing Choice Vouchers (HUD Fair Market Rents). In Canada, CMHC publishes rental market data with average rents and vacancy rates by area (CMHC rental market data); its averages include occupied units, so they can lag what a vacant unit rents for today.

Step 2: Convert every comp to effective rent

A free month changes the real price. Effective rent = monthly rent − (concession ÷ lease months). A unit advertised at $2,100 with one month free on a 12-month lease is really $2,100 − $2,100 ÷ 12 = $1,925 a month.

Step 3: Adjust each comp to your unit

Decide what each difference is worth per month in your market: an extra bedroom, an extra bathroom, every 100 square feet, a parking spot, heat included. There's no official table for these values; they're your estimates, so base them on comps that differ by one feature where you can. Then adjust the comp toward your unit: if the comp lacks something yours has, add the value; if it has something yours lacks, subtract it. A comp that needs large adjustments probably isn't really comparable.

A worked example

Your unit: 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 850 sq ft, with parking. Your estimates: $150 a bedroom, $100 a bathroom, $40 per 100 sq ft and $50 for parking. These values are made up to show the method.

  • Comp A, leased at $1,800: 2 bed, 1 bath, 800 sq ft, no parking. Add $20 for size and $50 for parking: $1,870.
  • Comp B, listed at $2,050: 2 bed, 2 bath, 900 sq ft, parking. Subtract $100 for the bathroom and $20 for size: $1,930.
  • Comp C, leased at $1,600: 1 bed, 1 bath, 700 sq ft, parking. Add $150 for the bedroom and $60 for size: $1,810.
  • Comp D, $2,100 with one month free on a 12-month lease: same as your unit. Effective rent: $1,925.

The adjusted comps run from $1,810 to $1,930, with a median of $1,897.50. Comp B is only an asking rent, so it deserves less weight; leaning on the leased comps points to an asking rent around $1,875 to $1,900. More comps would make that range tighter.

Step 4: List it, then watch the response

Inquiries and showings are your feedback. Lots of interest in the first days suggests you could have asked more next time; very little after a couple of weeks suggests the rent, the photos or the listing need work. Every week empty costs a week of rent, so a slightly lower rent that fills the unit quickly can earn more over the year than a higher one that sits.

Market rent isn't always a rent you can charge

For a new tenant, you can usually start from market rent, but raising an existing tenant's rent is often regulated:

  • Ontario: for most units, rent can go up once every 12 months, with at least 90 days' written notice on the proper Landlord and Tenant Board form, and by no more than the yearly guideline (1.9% for 2027) without the Board's approval. Units first occupied for residential purposes after November 15, 2018 are exempt from the guideline, but the notice rules still apply (Ontario: residential rent increases).
  • Quebec: the landlord proposes any increase in a written notice before the lease renews. The tenant can refuse within one month and stay; the landlord can then ask the Tribunal administratif du logement to fix the rent (TAL: rent increase).
  • California: the Tenant Protection Act caps increases for most tenants at 5% plus the change in the cost of living, or 10%, whichever is lower, over 12 months; the landlord can set a new rent when a new tenant moves in (California Attorney General).
  • Other provinces, states and cities have their own notice periods, caps or rent-control rules, so check the rules where your rental is before you send a notice.

Whatever rent you settle on, offer it on the same terms to every applicant. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in renting because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or disability (HUD).

Frequently asked questions

How many comps do I need to set rent?

There's no fixed rule, but 10 to 20 recent comps of the same type and bedroom count usually give a clear range. A few close matches are worth more than many loose ones.

Should I use asking rents or leased rents?

Leased rents where you can get them. Asking rents show what landlords hope for, not what tenants paid, so give them less weight.

How do I account for a free month in a comp?

Use effective rent: take the free month's rent, divide it by the lease months and subtract it from the monthly rent. One month free on a $2,100, 12-month lease is about $1,925 a month.

Can I raise my tenant's rent to market rent?

It depends on where your rental is. Ontario limits most increases to a yearly guideline, Quebec tenants can refuse an increase and the Tribunal can fix the rent, and some US states and cities cap increases. Check the local rules first.

Sources

This guide is general information, not legal, financial or tax advice, and a market rent from comps is an estimate, not an appraisal. Rent-increase and rent-control rules differ by province, state and city and change over time. Check the official sources linked above and the rules where your rental is, and ask a lawyer or your local housing authority if you're unsure.

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