Reviewing a Multifamily Rent Roll and Operating Statements in Alberta

1. Preserve the original records and dates

Request native rent-roll exports, year-end and interim statements, general ledgers, trial balances and the chart of accounts for a defined period. Preserve the original files and identify the property, preparer, accounting basis, report date and any later seller revisions.

Create a request and discrepancy log. Do not silently repair the seller's records inside the acquisition model; keep reported amounts, buyer adjustments and supporting evidence visible.

• Native rent roll
• Tenancy agreements
• Deposit ledger
• General ledger and statements
• Invoices and contracts
• Request and discrepancy log

2. Reconcile the physical unit schedule

Match unit numbers, types, bedrooms, status and reported area to plans, municipal records and inspection. Identify model suites, superintendent units, storage, combined units, offline suites and any discrepancy between marketed and observed unit counts.

Keep unverified area and unit legality out of per-unit and per-square-foot conclusions until the appropriate records and professional review support them.

3. Tie each occupied unit to a tenancy record

For each occupied unit, compare tenant identifiers, commencement, fixed or periodic status, rent, included utilities, parking, storage, concessions, increases, notices and other material terms to the executed agreement and amendments.

Alberta distinguishes fixed-term and periodic rental agreements and provides current guidance on tenancy rights and responsibilities. Legal counsel or qualified property-management advisors should address interpretation, enforceability and transition issues.

4. Reconcile billed rent to collections

Build a monthly bridge from gross scheduled rent to billed rent, concessions, vacancy, arrears, bad debt and cash collected. Test a sample back to tenant ledgers, deposit records and bank or accounting evidence, then investigate recurring differences.

A current rent roll can hide seasonality, turnover and collection issues. Use enough historical periods to understand move-outs, vacancy duration, write-offs and whether a recent improvement is durable.

5. Review deposits and other tenant balances

Reconcile security deposits by tenant to the trust or accounting record, receipts, interest treatment and proposed closing adjustment. Alberta's current guidance addresses deposit limits, interest-bearing trust accounts and landlord responsibilities.

Identify prepaid rent, last-month arrangements, credits, arrears, payment plans, disputed charges and write-offs separately. Counsel and the closing accountant should determine the representations, transfer mechanics and adjustments required for the transaction.

6. Separate in-place, asking and market rent

In-place rent comes from the current tenancy record. Asking rent describes an available unit or marketing position. External market data provides context for a defined geography and survey universe. These are different evidence sets and should not be merged into one unlabeled market-rent column.

CMHC publishes vacancy, rent, turnover and rental-universe data with definitions and geographic scopes. Read the methodology and compare like unit types and vintages before using it as context for one property.

7. Reconcile operating statements to underlying accounts

Map each statement line to the general ledger, then sample material items to invoices, contracts, tax notices, utility bills, payroll or other records. Compare several full years, current year-to-date and the latest available trailing period on a consistent basis.

Explain changes in account coding, ownership, management, vacancies, insurance, utilities and major repairs. An unexplained drop in expense is not automatically an efficiency gain.

8. Classify recurring, capital and owner-specific items

Separate routine operations from replacement or improvement projects, casualty costs, financing, depreciation, income tax, owner benefits, related-party charges and other non-property items. Keep both reported and adjusted presentations with the reason for every adjustment.

Accounting, lender and appraisal conventions can differ. CRA's Rental Income guide discusses records and current-versus-capital expenses for its stated audience, but the transaction team should obtain advice for the actual entity and reporting purpose.

9. Protect personal information during diligence

Rent rolls and tenancy files can contain identifiable tenant information. Limit collection and access to what the diligence purpose requires, use secure transfer and storage, track recipients and define retention or destruction after the transaction decision.

Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act governs private-sector organizations in the province. The parties should obtain privacy advice and use appropriately redacted or staged disclosure where full personal information is not yet required.

10. Produce a reconciled schedule, not a confidence score

The output should show reported, verified, adjusted and unresolved amounts; the source for each; and the effect on income, expenses, capital and closing. Escalate material discrepancies into additional records, professional review, pricing or contract conditions.

This guide is an educational diligence framework. It is not an audit, review engagement, legal opinion, privacy assessment, appraisal, tax conclusion or guarantee of tenant payment.