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Consider the following sentence: "For the period from Tenant's move-in date, _________, through the end of the month, Tenant will pay to Landlord the prorated monthly rent of $1200."

Does this mean that the Tenant will pay a fraction of $1200 equal to the fraction of the month he is there, or does it mean the Tenant pays $1200?

Mathmank
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Prorated generally means a proportional amount based on the number of days. Considering a 30 day month. If tenant moves in on the 14th, tenant will reside there for 17 days. 17 divided by 30 is 56%. 56% of $1,200 is $680. Tenant will owe $680 for the month.

EDIT: I see the ambiguity now. If $1,200 is the normally monthly stated rent then it stands to reason that the prorated monthly amount cannot also be $1,200 unless you move in on the first of a month.

quid
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It seems like someone copied the language wrong. As written, this should say something less than the monthly rate unless the move-in date is the first of the month. A standard language would say something like "the prorated portion of the monthly rent of $1200."

I'd change it to the correct number before signing the agreement. If the landlord wants to cross out the "monthly", let them. On the check, I'd put "Prorated rent for _______" and replace the blank with the move-in month and year. E.g. "Prorated rent for June 2016".

If you are the landlord, consider changing to something like

For the period from Tenant's move-in date, _________, through the end of the month, Tenant will pay to Landlord $_________, the prorated portion of the monthly rent of $1200.

I am not a lawyer. If you want to be sure, hire a lawyer to review the agreement. If you cannot afford a lawyer, there may be services available to help you. Often the local bar association can give you a referral (either to a regular lawyer or to a subsidized service).

Brythan
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While worded ambiguously, they are in fact meaning a portion of that amount reflecting the portion of the month that the Tenant's lease is in effect.

This is usually calculated by dividing the full month's rent by the number of days in the given month, and then multiplying that daily amount by the number of days that the Tenant's lease will be in effect during said month.

Source: employment for an apartment management company

Thew
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