The nitty-gritty of paying the fair amount: Prorated rent explained

After spending days, weeks, or even months looking, you’ve finally found a rental apartment or house that fits your needs and budget. But for some reason, you can’t move in until the 4th, the 18th, or even the 27th of the month. So, should you have to pay for the whole month’s rent? In most cases, the answer is no. That’s where prorated rent comes in — here’s what you need to know.

What is prorated rent?

Whether you see it written as pro-rated rent, pro rated rent, or the correct way — prorated rent — it all means the same thing. Most landlords start their rent cycle on the first of the month. But life doesn’t always work out that neatly. Maybe your current lease ends in the middle of the month, you’re breaking the lease early, or you want your move-in date to line up with a new job or the school year. And when it’s time to move out, you might need to leave before the month is over. In situations like these, most renters don’t want to pay for days they won’t be living there — and that’s when prorated rent comes into play.

So, what does prorated rent mean?

Also called pro rata rent, prorated rent simply means you only pay for the days you actually live in the place. Instead of paying the full month’s rent, the amount is adjusted based on how many days you’re there that month.

How does prorated rent work?

If you stay in the apartment for 18 days in July, you only pay for those 18 days. Pretty straightforward, right? But now that you know what prorated rent means, there are a few other things to keep in mind.

When is prorated rent required?

In most places, landlords aren’t legally required to offer prorated rent. Many will do it if you move in partway through the month, but some might not agree to prorate rent when you’re moving out.

That’s why it’s important to check with your landlord ahead of time — and make sure you get the agreement in writing, just to be safe.

How to get your rent prorated

If you’re planning to move in after the first day of the month or move out before the last, your landlord might offer to prorate your rent. Sometimes, prorated rent is explained in your lease agreement — it might even be covered by local laws or recommendations.

If it’s not, you can still ask for a prorated amount. Just be sure to get any agreement in writing. But keep in mind, unless it’s spelled out in your lease or required by law, the landlord doesn’t have to prorate your rent. This is especially true if you’re moving out earlier than the date you originally agreed to.

In that case, the landlord may expect you to pay for the full month.

How to calculate prorated rent

If your landlord agrees to prorate your rent, the next step is figuring out how much you’ll actually owe.

Here’s how to figure out prorated rent:

Step 1: Find out the daily rental rate

There are plenty of online tools to help you calculate prorated rent, but most use the same basic method — and it’s pretty straightforward. The first step in figuring out your prorated portion is determining how much rent you pay per day. There are several ways to do this, and different landlords may prefer different methods.

Here are the most common ways to calculate daily rent:

• By the number of days in the current month
• By the average number of days in a month (30.42 days)
• By a “banker’s month” (30 days)
• By the number of days in the year (365 days)

Let’s go through each method using an example where the monthly rent is $1,000:

• Current month method:

If the month has 31 days, divide $1,000 by 31: $1,000 ÷ 31 = $32.26 per day

This gives you a daily rate of $32.26.

• Average month method:

The average month has about 30.42 days: $1,000 ÷ 30.42 = $32.87 per day

This gives you a daily rate of $32.87.

• Banker’s month method:

This assumes every month has 30 days: $1,000 ÷ 30 = $33.33 per day

This gives you a daily rate of $33.33.

Yearly method:

Multiply $1,000 by 12 to get the annual rent ($12,000), then divide by 365: $12,000 ÷ 365 = $32.88 per day

This gives you a daily rate of $32.88.

This is the most exact method — just note it would be slightly different in a leap year, which has one extra day.

You should also keep in mind that using the actual number of days in the month means your daily rate will vary. For example, February — which has only 28 days, or 29 in a leap year — has a higher per-day cost, while a month with 31 days like August has a lower one.

The method of calculation you choose depends on what you agreed with the landlord or what your lease says.

Step 2: Find out the prorated portion

Once you’ve figured out the daily rate, calculating your prorated rent is easy. Just multiply that rate by the number of days you’ll be living in the rental.

For example, if you’re staying from the first to the 10th of the month (10 days) and your daily rate is $32.87:

10 x 32.87 = $328.70

Or if you’re staying for 21 days and your daily rate is $33.33:

21 x 33.33 = $699.93

How to prorate rent for the month

Once you’ve figured out how much you owe for the prorated month, the next question is when to pay it.

In many cases, landlords require you to pay a full month’s rent when you move in, no matter what day of the month it is. If that happens, you’ll pay the full rent upfront, and then get credited the prorated amount the following month.

For example, if you move in on March 12, you’d still pay the full rent for March at move-in. Then in April, you’d pay only the prorated amount that covers March 12–31. Starting in May, you’d go back to paying the full monthly rent.

Prorating rent when you move out is usually simpler: You just pay the prorated amount for your final days at the beginning of your last month.

Now that you understand how prorated rent works, you’re ready to handle move-in and move-out dates like a pro. Head over to RentCafe.com and find your next happy place!