# Tenant CAC — Cost to acquire each tenant

In property management proptech, the cost to acquire a new tenant includes real estate commission, marketing for the vacant unit, and the cost of vacant days. If it is very high relative to monthly rent, the business loses profitability every time a tenant rotates.

## Where to find it

Add up real estate commission + marketing spend for the unit + estimated cost of vacant days (uncollected rent during the search), divided by the number of new tenants for the period.

## If it's off

A tenant with $800/month rent and $3,200 CAC has a payback of 4 months just from acquisition cost, before any other cost. If the tenant leaves after a year, the owner spent 4 of 12 months "paying" for the acquisition.

## LATAM Benchmarks

| Status | Range |
|---|---|
| Healthy | < 1 month rent in acquisition cost |
| Alert | 1–2 months rent |
| Critical | > 2 months rent in acquisition |

## How to improve it

Every additional vacant day has a direct cost of uncollected rent. Having a pre-approved candidate pipeline before contract expiration (advance marketing) reduces vacancy cost, which is the biggest CAC driver.

Related metrics: [Collection Rate](https://www.uniteconomicscalculator.com/en/glossary/collection-rate.html) · [Monthly OpEx](https://www.uniteconomicscalculator.com/en/glossary/monthly-op-ex.html) · [Portfolio Value](https://www.uniteconomicscalculator.com/en/glossary/property-value.html)

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