My tenant moved in on aug 5th. I charged him full month’s rent and prorated September. I mistakenly charged him $2730.34 for the 27 days in August.

In my mind I calculate:

($3000x12)/366= $98.36/day. ( he pointed out next year is a leap year)

Therefore for 27 days in August it should’ve been $2655.74.

The difference $2730.34 - $2655.74 = $74.66

This is his response:

Since we have now aligned my payment schedule with the first day of the month, I will have paid a total of 3000*11+2730.38 by end of July 2020 for 361 days of renting your place. The rent for that 361 days should be 361*98.63. So the over payment would be (3000*11+2730.38) - 361*98.63 = 124.90. I believe your calculation assumes that the saving from not occupying the house for 4 days of a month varies from month to month.

But to be even more precise, 2020 is a leap year🙂, and the rent per day should be ($3000x12)/366 = $98.36/day. So the refund turns out to be (3000*11+2730.38) - 362*98.36 = 123.82. So I believe $123.82 is the correct refund.

Of course I will have to pay you 4 more days of rent for next August if we don't renew the lease. I now realize why you asked if I could start the lease on Aug. 1st. To save both of us some hassle, let's do that next year if we decide to renew.

Please tell me which refund is correct - $74.66 or $123.82???

Thanks in advance.

@Jen Pothilat

27 days in August at 3000/month

3000*(27/31)=2612.90

By my math you're both wrong I did 27/ 31 and multiplied by the rent and got $2,612.90 you charge rent by the month not by the day and prorate as a percentage of the month.

In property management industry standard is that per day rates are always calculated based on a 30 day month. This should be in your lease. ($3000/30days)*26 days= $2,600. count from September 5th to September 30th to get your 26 days

His full months rent of $3,000 paid August 5th covers him from 8/5-9/4.  Rent due 9/1 is for prorated period from 9/5 - 9/30, 26 days in the amount of $2,600.

Hi @Jen Pothilat !

Your tenant's rent is $3,000 each month. That means the daily rent will vary depending on how many days are in each month.

If your tenant moved in on August 5, he's due for August 5 through August 31, or 27 total days in August. August has 31 days, so the daily rent is $96.77 ($3000/31), rounded to the nearest penny.

So, he should have paid $2,612.79 in pro-rated rent for the month of August. If you charged him $2,730.34, the overcharge is $117.55.

ALL PRORATIONS ARE CALCULATED ON A 30 DAY BASIS, leap year or no leap year! Talk to a bank they will tell you the same!

By the given month.

Just listened to landlording on autopilot... mike butler mentions where people choose to rent / pay bi weekly in their lease. You actually gain an extra month of rent per year because of 26 periods instead of 12 months

@Blake Garcia

Thank you everyone for your replies!

I actually found an online calculator and it bases the daily rent on the number of days in the month.

sounds like an A hole tenant . Good luck with this penny pincher going forward