How to prorate rent: three methods, worked out

To prorate rent, turn the monthly rent into a daily rate and charge it for the days the tenant has the unit. The only real decision is how you get the daily rate, and there are three common ways. They differ by a few dollars, which is exactly why tenants notice when you use a different one than you used last time.

Try any date in our prorated rent calculator. It shows all three methods side by side.

The same move-in, three ways

Rent is $1,850 a month. The tenant moves in on November 18. November has 30 days, so the tenant has the unit for 13 days: the 18th through the 30th, counting both.

In a 30-day month, the first and third methods match. They split in 31-day months and in February.

Where the methods differ

Take the same $1,850 rent with a move-in on February 18, 2026. February has 28 days, so the tenant has 11 days.

The 30-day month method treats every month as 30 days, so a move-in on the 18th always counts 13 days, even in February. It's simple to explain and generous to the landlord in short months. The 365-day year method charges the same daily rate all year and is the easiest to defend. Days in the month is the most common.

Which one to use

The one your lease names. Pick a method, write it into the lease, and use it for every tenant. Two tenants who moved in on the same day and paid different amounts is how a few dollars turns into a complaint.

If your lease is silent, days in the month is the safest default, because it's the method most tenants check with a phone calculator.

Move-outs work the same way

For a move-out, count from the 1st through the last day of the lease. A lease ending November 12 is 12 days, so $1,850 / 30 x 12 = $740 by days in the month.

When to collect it

Two common patterns:

• Prorated rent at move-in, full rent on the 1st. Clean for move-ins early in the month.
• Prorated rent plus the first full month at move-in. Common for move-ins after the 20th, so the tenant isn't paying rent again a week later. With the November 18 example, that's $801.67 plus $1,850, or $2,651.67 at move-in.

Write which one you use into the lease and the move-in checklist.

Late, not partial

Prorating is for partial months of occupancy, not partial payment. When rent comes in late, the lease's late fee applies instead. Work out what's owed with our rent late fee calculator, and screen the next applicant's income with the rent-to-income calculator.