Free rent is a price decision, not a missing payment. Record the offer before it is advertised, attach the approval, and make sure the lease, rent roll, and accounting treatment describe the same arrangement. Otherwise a manager may mistake an authorized credit for delinquency.
Calculate the offer in plain numbers
For a simple example, a 12-month lease at $1,500 per month has $18,000 of scheduled gross rent. One full month waived would leave $16,500 of scheduled rent under that offer, or $1,375 per month when divided evenly across 12 months. That effective rent is a comparison measure, not necessarily the monthly amount the tenant is billed. Timing, partial months, fees, taxes, and accounting rules may change the real treatment.
Minimum concession record
Download a blank rent concession tracking CSV. It separates the approved offer from the actual ledger posting.
- Property, unit, prospect or resident, lease term, gross asking rent, and exact offer wording.
- Concession type, amount, period to which it applies, and any conditions that were actually agreed.
- Approver, approval date, and source document; who updated the listing and lease.
- Billing schedule, ledger entry, effective-rent comparison, and expiry or reversal date.
Before signing, compare the proposal with other units on a like-for-like term. After signing, review whether the credit posted exactly once and whether the owner report distinguishes gross scheduled rent from the concession. Do not silently replace asking rent with effective rent in every report; label the metric.
See the rent-roll review guide and monthly close checklist. JHA can keep lease records and financial review together, but it does not decide whether a concession is commercially or legally appropriate.
Editorial note, October 2026: The arithmetic is an illustrative planning example, not accounting, tax, or legal advice. Have a qualified professional review your reporting method.