Occupancy

Occupancy is a measure of how many apartment units are occupied compared with the total number of units at a property. In multifamily operations, teams often distinguish physical occupancy—units with residents or signed leases—from economic occupancy, which looks at rental income actually collected compared with potential rent. Occupancy can be tracked at the unit, property, or portfolio level.

A 200-unit community has 188 occupied units. Its physical occupancy is 94%: 188 occupied units ÷ 200 total units.

Occupancy helps operations leaders understand leasing performance, vacancy exposure, staffing needs, and revenue risk. A property can appear healthy based on physical occupancy while still underperforming economically if concessions, bad debt, or unpaid rent reduce collected income.