Prorated Rent Calculator

The prorated rent calculator is a helpful tool for landlords to calculate rent when a tenant doesn’t occupy rental property for a full month. To calculate the amount of rent due for an incomplete month, you divide the monthly rent by the number of days in the month. This figure represents the daily rental rate. You then multiply the number of occupied days by the daily rent amount to get the partial month's rent.

Responsible landlords can prorate rent for tenants who move in before or after the first date of the month. Usually, full rent is charged monthly from the first day of the month until the last. Prorating rent is a fair solution for tenants, especially for existing tenants who stuck to the terms of the lease.

Calculating prorated rent is also necessary if you collect rent on days other than the first day of the month.

How to Use the Prorate Rent Calculator

Using the prorated rent calculator is very straightforward. The only figures you need to input into the prorate calculator are the rent amount, the move-in date, and the day of the month when the billing cycle starts.

This is how to calculate prorated rent:

• Total rent ÷ days in the month = daily rental rate
• Multiply daily rent amount by the number of days occupied
• The result is the total rent that is due for the month.

When prorating rent, you also need to remember that you should keep a full month's rent and security deposit. Depending on your state laws, you may need to keep the security deposit separate from the rent amount.

You also need to remember to add include the first day when the tenant moves in. If you just subtract the date by the number of days in the month, you will miss a day.

Other Ways of Prorating Rent

Some other ways of calculating prorated rent are to use the annual rent divided by 365—the number of days in the year. You then use the average daily rental rate to prorate rent for any given month of the year.

Alternatively, you could calculate the daily rent by dividing the monthly rental by the average days in a month (30.42) and multiplying this by the days occupied.

Or, some states require that you use a ‘banker’s month’ to for rent prorating. This method divides the monthly rent amount by 30 days, regardless of how many days are in the month.

Example of Calculating Prorated Rent

Here is an example of when and how to calculate prorated rent.

Let’s say your tenant plans to move into the rental unit on the 20^th of April, but the billing date is on the first of the month. Because April has 30 days and the tenant pays rent from the first day they occupy the apartment, the total rent due in April is 11 days. If the total monthly rent is $1,500, the daily rent is $50. So, your tenant has to pay a total of $550 prorated rent for the month.

The Best Rent Prorate Calculation Method

RentDrop’s prorated rent calculator uses the daily rental rate for the current month. We find that this is the best method for property owners or landlords to prorate rent. This way, you are better positioned to act fairly with your tenant and ensure that you collect the full amount of rent that tenants are due.