Multifamily Feasibility Planner
Test whether an affordable or mixed-income apartment project pencils before you apply for funding. Model your budget, rent bands, capital stack, and operations, then check the project against the published requirements of Alberta's Affordable Housing Partnership Program (AHPP) and Build Canada Homes. Your project numbers stay in your browser.
Welcome. Tell us who you are to get started.
The planner is free to use. We ask for a few details the first time you use it on this device, so we know who the tool is helping.
1. Project
The example is a 120-unit, four-storey rental building in a mixed-income model. Replace any number with your own.
2. Unit mix & market rents
Market rent is what each unit would rent for at full market in this building. Affordable rents are set by band in the next section.
3. Rent bands & affordability
AHPP sets rent bands as a percentage of the area's median market rent (MMR) from CMHC's Rental Market Survey, not as a discount from your building's rents. Build Canada Homes defines affordable as rent at or below 30% of the area's median household income. The example benchmarks are illustrative only; replace them with figures for your community (the HART calculator gives Build Canada Homes thresholds by area).
Benchmarks by bedroom type
Rent bands
Rental rate breakdown
The same layout the AHPP application asks for. Affordable rents never exceed a unit's market rent.
4. Development costs
Hard costs are per gross square foot of building. Soft costs cover design, permits, development charges, legal, and project management.
5. Construction financing
Interest during construction is estimated from the average share of the loan drawn. Lease-up interest assumes the full balance is outstanding until the building is refinanced. On affordable projects with large grants, size the loan close to what the permanent mortgage can take out.
6. Capital stack
Add every source that funds the project. Sponsor equity fills whatever is left. Tag each source with its program and status so the program checks can test funding caps, equity, and readiness. Grants, forgivable loans, and in-kind contributions are not repaid. Repayable loans accrue interest during construction, then pay interest only (amortization 0) or amortize, and are repaid at sale. Land or in-kind contributions from the applicant or a partner count as equity under AHPP.
7. Operations
Operating expenses per unit should include property tax, insurance, utilities, staffing, repairs, and management.
8. Permanent financing & exit
The mortgage is the lower of the loan-to-value limit and the amount the income can carry at the minimum debt coverage ratio. Insured financing for affordable rental can allow longer amortizations and lower coverage; confirm terms with your lender.
9. Results
What the numbers are saying
10. Program checks
A screen against the published requirements of each program. It is not an eligibility decision. Program rules change between intakes, so confirm every item against the current guidelines before you apply.
Alberta AHPP
Build Canada Homes
Development budget
Sources of funds
Sensitivity: yield on cost
How yield on cost moves if construction costs or rents come in different from plan. Green clears your target spread over the market cap rate, amber is positive but thin, and red is below the cap rate.