How Much Rent Can You Comfortably Pay — DHA Lahore

Every field, the formula behind it, and a worked example.

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Help › The calculators › Comfortable rent

One number in, three numbers out: the rent that is comfortable, the rent that is the upper limit, and the point past which it starts to hurt.

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01

When to use it

Before you sign a rent agreement, and before you let an agent talk you up by "just twenty thousand more". Twenty thousand a month is Rs 2.4 lakh a year.

02

Every field, explained

Your monthly income (Rs)The only field. Again, what actually reaches your hand each month. Two people renting together should add both incomes.
03

How the answer is worked out

  1. Comfortable is 25% of your income. At this level the rent does not decide how you live.
  2. Upper limit is 33% — a third of what you earn. Landlords and agents in Lahore commonly work to this figure.
  3. Anything above that upper limit is shown as the third number. It is not forbidden; it just means something else in your month has to give.
A worked example
Monthly incomeRs 300,000
Comfortable (25%)Rs 75,000
Upper limit (33%)Rs 99,000

So a 1 kanal upper portion at Rs 150,000 is out of range on this income, but a 5 marla house or a good portion at Rs 75,000–95,000 sits inside it.

04

Mistakes people make

  • Forgetting that rent is not the only housing cost. Bills, maintenance and society charges come on top — the monthly cost calculator adds those up.
  • Ignoring the advance. In Lahore two to six months' rent is commonly asked for up front, and that is separate money.
  • Counting a bonus or a variable income as if it arrives every month.
05

What it does not do

  • It does not know rents in any particular block — for that, search For Rent on the properties page.
  • It does not include the security deposit or the advance.
  • It does not adjust for family size, school fees or anything else specific to you. It is a rule of thumb, deliberately simple.
06

Questions

Why two numbers instead of one?
Because one number would be a lie. 25% and 33% are the two lines people actually live between.
Is 33% the legal maximum?
No. There is no legal limit on rent in Pakistan. 33% is what most people can carry without cutting something else.
Should I include utility bills in this?
No — put rent here, and put the bills into the monthly cost calculator.

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