Due Diligence: LFA Reporting Overview & Details
The Lease File Audit (LFA) produces a suite of reports that summarize the audit's findings, compare rent roll data against what was recorded during the audit, and highlight variances for follow-up. This article walks through every report available in the LFA module — what each one contains, how it's structured, and (where relevant) how the numbers are calculated.
Want to see sample reports? Preview all available reports here.
What This Article Covers
- The full list of General LFA Reports
- Variance-focused LFA reports
- Understanding key calculations (unit inclusion, Net Rent, income normalization, and more)
- Related articles for running and regenerating reports
General LFA Reports
Lease File Audit Overview
A compilation report showing demographics, rent analysis by floorplan, household income, occupancy, and more. This is the most comprehensive LFA output and typically the first report stakeholders will look at. It's structured into many sections — each is described below.
Rent Analysis by Floor Plan. A table with Floor Plan, SQFT, Total Unit count, Occupancy %, AVG Market Rent, AVG Rent, Net Rent, Rent Per SQFT, AVG Income, Market Rent to Income, and Net Rent to Income.
Rent Analysis Summary. A table with Units, Units with Rent, Total Rent (Rent Roll), Total Rent (Audit), AVG Rent, AVG SQFT, AVG Rent Per SQFT, Variance, Variance Count, Variance Rent Amt %, and Variance Count %.
Income Analysis. A table with Floor Plan, SQFT, Total Units, Total Occupied, AVG Annual Income, Median Annual Income, AVG Monthly Income, and Median Monthly Income.
Household Income Analysis. A table with Occupied Unit count, Total Income, AVG Annual Household Income, and Median Annual Household Income. See Understanding Key Calculations below for how this differs from the "Units with Income Present" table.
Household Income Analysis for Units with Income Present. A table with Occupied Units with Income count, Total Income, and AVG Annual Household Income — using only occupied units that had at least one income value recorded.
Resident Age Analysis. A table with AVG Age and Median Age.
Lease Expiration Dates. A bar graph showing lease expirations by month, comparing what was on the rent roll to what the auditors entered. A table below the graph provides the count breakdown for each month by Rent Roll and Lease Audit.
Concession Burndown. A bar graph showing the concession burndown by month, comparing the rent roll to what the auditors entered. A table below the graph shows concession totals for each month by Rent Roll and Lease Audit.
Occupants Per Unit. A table showing how many units have a certain number of occupants, alongside a bar graph for visual representation.
Resident Tenure. A distribution of resident tenure, calculated as whole years elapsed from move-in date to the report generation date (see Understanding Key Calculations below).
Occupancy. A table with unit lease status values, counts, and percentages, with a pie chart for visual representation.
Manager Signed. A table with counts and percentages of manager-signed values entered during the audit, with a pie chart.
Resident Screen Status. A table with counts and percentages of resident screen status values, with a pie chart.
Top 10 Employers. A table listing the top 10 values entered for Employer, with count and percentage, and a pie chart. If more than 10 employers are recorded, an "Other" category is automatically added as the 11th entry to group all remaining.
Top 10 Employment Industries. Same structure as Top 10 Employers, listing the top 10 employment industries with an "Other" grouping if there are more than 10.
Top 10 Employment Zip Codes. Same structure, listing the top 10 employment zip codes.
Resident Signed Lease. A table with counts and percentages of resident-signed values, with a pie chart.
Credit Approval. A table with counts and percentages of credit approval values entered during the audit, with a pie chart.
Occupancy Status. A table with counts and percentages of occupancy status values, with a pie chart.
All Charges. A table listing Charge Type, total amount shown on Rent Roll, total amount recorded during the audit, number of units with that charge type, and count of units with a variance. Bar graph for visual representation.
All Deposits. Same structure as All Charges, but for deposit categories.
Market Rent. A table showing total Market Rent on Rent Roll vs. audit, count of units with a Market Rent recorded, and count of units with a Market Rent variance. Bar graph for visual representation.
Rent. A table showing total Rent on Rent Roll vs. audit, count of units with a Rent recorded, and count of units with a Rent variance. Bar graph for visual representation.
Lease File Audit — Unit by Unit Overview
A unit-level summary of key financial metrics — occupied status, income, rent, market rent, net rent, and loss to lease. Structured as a table organized by Unit Number, with fields for Occupied (Yes/No), Annual Income, Rent, Market Rent, Net Rent, Loss to Lease, Market Rent to Income, Net Rent to Income, and Rent Per SQFT.
Lease File Audit — Unit All Currency Details
A comprehensive list of all currency fields per unit — useful for reconciling the audit against detailed lease files. Structured as a table organized by Unit Number, containing all currency fields associated with that unit (Rent, Charges, Concessions, Deposits) and their amounts.
Lease File Audit — Unit Charges, Concessions, and Deposits
A per-unit summary of occupancy status and total charges, concessions, and deposits. Structured as a table organized by Unit Number, with fields for Unit Number, Occupied (Yes/No), total Charges, total Recurring Concessions, total One-time Concessions, and total Deposits.
Lease File Audit — Occupant Income Report
A detailed breakdown of occupant income data, including unit information, occupant status, income details, and annual unit income analysis.
Lease File Audit — Unit Occupant Details
A complete list of occupant information — date of birth, employer, income details, and screening status — organized by unit. Structured as a table containing all details entered under the Occupant section of the Lease File Audit.
Lease File Audit — Upcoming Lease Expiry Report
A view of upcoming lease expirations, with a rent-roll-vs-audit comparison. The report is structured in two sections:
- Summary: A bar graph of upcoming lease expirations, comparing the rent roll to what the auditors entered.
- Details: A table containing Unit Number, Rent Roll lease expiry date, and Lease Audit lease expiry date.
Lease File Audit — User Report
Tracks audits completed by each auditor, highlighting the number of variances found and the fields involved. Structured as a table with Auditor First Name, Auditor Last Name, Auditor Email, and Audits Completed count.
Lease File Audit — Data Feed
A comprehensive list of all LFA data entered — useful for exporting to a spreadsheet for further analysis. Structured as a table with Unit Number, Group, Field, Rent Roll (RR), Lease, and Notes.
Lease File Audit — All Fields with Notes
A summary of all fields that include flag notes from the auditors. Structured as a table with Unit Number, Group (Concessions, Charges, etc.), Field (Rent, Parking, Unit Lease Status, etc.), Rent Roll, Lease Audit, and Notes.
Raw LFA Data CSV
A CSV export of the raw LFA data — the most flexible format for downstream analysis, transformation, or import into external systems.
Variance-Related LFA Reports
These reports focus specifically on discrepancies between the rent roll and the audited lease files — useful for identifying data quality issues and preparing follow-up notes for your team.
Lease File Audit — All Currency Variance Report
Details discrepancies in currency fields by unit, including rent roll amount, audit amount, and the calculated variance. Structured as a table with Unit Number, Section, Field, Rent Roll Amount, Lease Audit Amount, total Variance Amount, and Notes.
Lease File Audit — Date Variances
Lists discrepancies in date fields by unit, showing differences between rent roll and audit values, along with the variance in days. Structured as a table with Unit Number, Section, Field, Rent Roll Date, Lease Audit Date, and Variance totals in days.
Lease File Audit — Fields Variances Per Unit
Summarizes variances by unit, with a count of discrepancies and the specific fields affected. Structured as a table with Unit Number, total variance count for that unit, and the fields where variance(s) were found.
Understanding Key Calculations
If you or your stakeholders are trying to interpret specific numbers in the LFA Overview report, these notes explain how the most commonly-questioned calculations work.
Which units are included in calculations
Most calculations in the LFA Overview use occupied units only:
- Vacant units are excluded. Vacant units may have a Market Rent listed, but their actual rent is $0 by design — including them would pull false zeros into rent averages and ratios.
- Occupied-File Not Found units are excluded. When the file couldn't be located during the audit, the data is treated as unreliable and left out of calculations.
- Model and other non-occupied statuses are also excluded.
The one exception is Occupancy % in the floor plan table — it uses all units (including Vacant) as the denominator, since it measures what portion of the total inventory is leased.
Rent Roll totals in the report vs. your native rent roll
The "Rent Roll Rent" totals in our reports will often differ from the total rent on your native rent roll. This is expected behavior and not an error.
Our reports use the lease audit's unit lease status — not the rent roll's status — to determine which units are included. Since we exclude Vacant, File Not Found, and Admin/Down units, our totals will typically be lower than a native rent roll that includes all units regardless of status.
If you're comparing totals side-by-side and see a mismatch, filter your native rent roll to Occupied-only (excluding File Not Found) and you should land at our reported Rent Roll total.
How Net Rent is calculated
Net Rent is the average rent adjusted for recurring charges and recurring concessions, across occupied units only:
Net Rent = (Total Rent + Total Recurring Charges − Total Recurring Concessions) ÷ Number of Occupied Units
One-time concessions are not included in Net Rent — only recurring concessions.
How income is normalized
Income is captured per occupant during the lease audit. To produce annual and monthly figures used throughout the report, income is normalized based on the frequency the auditor recorded:
- Annual: × 1
- Monthly: × 12
- Bi-monthly: × 24
- Bi-weekly: × 26
- Weekly: × 52
- Hourly: × 2,080 (full-time hours)
- If no frequency is recorded, the raw value is treated as annual.
All occupants on a unit are then summed to produce the household income figure.
Household Income Analysis vs. Units with Income Present
The LFA Overview contains two income analysis tables that look similar but use different denominators:
- Household Income Analysis uses all occupied units as the denominator, even those where no income was recorded. Units with blank income entries pull the average down.
- Household Income Analysis for Units with Income Present uses only occupied units where at least one income value was recorded.
The distinction matters when interpreting the numbers — a blank income entry (NULL) means "not recorded," not "$0." The "Units with Income Present" figure is generally the more defensible number to reference for income coverage discussions with lenders or investors.
Concession Burndown methodology
A recurring concession is treated as active for every month between the unit's lease start and lease end dates. The Concession Burndown chart shows how much recurring concession value rolls off each month as leases expire.
Only recurring concessions appear in the burndown. One-time concessions (e.g., a one-month signing bonus) are excluded because they don't extend across the lease term.
Resident Tenure calculation
Resident tenure is calculated as the number of whole years elapsed from the resident's move-in date to the date the report was generated, floored. For example, 11 months of tenure would show as 0 years; 23 months would show as 1 year.
Units without a move-in date recorded are excluded from the tenure chart.
Related Articles
- Due Diligence: Running Reports — how to generate reports for your DD order.
- Due Diligence: Updating Data and Regenerating Reports — how to refresh reports after your data changes.
- Due Diligence: Unit Walk Reporting Overview & Details — the sibling reference article for Unit Walk reports.
Need Help?
The Due Diligence team is happy to assist:
- Submit a Service Request
- Email us at dd@happy.co
- For emergency, day-of support, give us a call at 447-427-7926 x2
Hours of operation: M–F, 7 AM – 5 PM PST