Prorated rent

When a lease starts or ends mid-month, rent for that month is prorated. The two common methods divide monthly rent by the actual days in the month, or by a flat thirty days. The lease should say which applies.

On $2,000 rent with a 30-day month and a move-in on the 15th, the resident occupies 16 days and pays $1,066.67. Using a flat 30-day divisor in a 31-day month gives a slightly different figure — hence the need to name the method.

Proration is small money and a large share of first-month disputes, because the resident does the arithmetic differently than you did. Naming the method in the lease removes the argument before it starts.

Show the calculation on the first statement: monthly rent, divisor, days occupied, result. Prorate additional rent and recurring fees the same way, and apply the same method at move-out.

Switching methods between move-in and move-out, prorating base rent but charging full utilities or pet rent, and rounding in your own favour on every lease.