Contract rent

Contract rent is the rent the signed lease requires for a stated rental period. It is a contractual charge, not proof of cash collected and not an estimate of what the unit could command in the market. A reliable contract-rent field should identify the unit, lease version, effective dates, recurring amount, frequency, and any signed amendment that changes the charge.

Property reports use contract rent as one starting point for scheduled revenue. The ledger should post the charge that the governing lease supports, while concessions, credits, and receipts remain visible as separate transactions. If a lease steps from $1,450 to $1,500 midway through its term, the rent roll needs both the effective date and the applicable amount; averaging the two can hide which charge belongs in a given month.

Imagine a tenant signs for $1,800 per month with a documented $900 move-in credit. Contract rent is still $1,800 for each month covered by the clause, while the concession changes the net amount collected over the lease term. If the same unit could be listed at $1,925 today, that figure is market rent, not contract rent. Keeping all three numbers distinct makes renewal and loss-to-lease analysis understandable.

Common red flags are a rent-roll number with no executed source, a verbal rent change that never reached the ledger, or a report that silently nets concessions into the lease rate. Review the signed lease and amendments before correcting a charge. Contract rent answers what the agreement requires; collected rent, effective rent, and market rent answer different operating questions.