If you’re moving into or out of an apartment in the middle of a month, your landlord may offer prorated rent. But you might be asking yourself, “what does prorated rent mean?”  It means you’ll only pay for the days you’re living in the apartment, rather than paying for the entire month. 

What is prorated rent? 

Prorated rent is a monthly rent amount that is adjusted to reflect the amount of time you’re actually living in the apartment. Landlords may choose to offer it if you move in or out of an apartment in the middle of a month. 

For example, if you move in on June 16, you’d only be living in the apartment for half of June. This means that your rent for this month would be half of your monthly contract rent amount. 

How to Calculate Prorated Rent

Since rent is based on a calendar month, landlords often choose to prorate your rent based on your move-in and move-out dates. Calculating prorated rent is simple. You’ll first need to figure out how many days you will be occupying the apartment. 

Once you’ve determined the length of your stay, the next step is to figure out how much your daily rent is. To do this, take your monthly rent amount and divide it by the number of days in that month. The final equation would be: (monthly rent ÷ days in the month) x days you occupy the apartment.  

For example, if your monthly rent is $1,800 per month, your daily rent for the month of June is $60 ($1,800/30). To find your prorated rent, multiply that amount by the number of days you will be occupying your apartment. If you move in on June 16, you’ll occupy the apartment for 15 days that month and, your prorated rent will be $900.

If you are going to pay prorated rent at any time during your lease, be sure to confirm the amount with your landlord before making the payment or check our lease to see if this provision is already included. This helps to avoid any confusion about the amount of rent you have to pay and will prevent you from potentially incurring late fees by accidentally underpaying. 

When do you pay prorated rent? 

Tenants will typically pay prorated rent when moving into or out of a property in the middle of a month. Keep in mind that landlords are not technically required to offer prorated rent, although many choose to. 

If you break your lease in the middle of a month or leave without warning, you probably won’t have the option to pay prorated rent. Always review your lease thoroughly to make sure you and your landlord are on the same page about the terms of your move. 

Get Moving with Southern Management 

At Southern Management, we offer prorated rent for residents to minimize move-in and move-out costs. We have over 75 communities in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. metro areas. If you’re looking for a new apartment in Maryland or Northern Virginia, take a look at our listings or contact us to ask any questions. We can’t wait to welcome you home!