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Moving in mid-month? Here is the rent maths

Move in on any day but the first and your opening payment covers a part month. Agents work it out one of two ways and the answers differ slightly, so this shows both, the daily rates behind them, and the gap between the two figures.

Your move-in

Rent for your first part month

£987.10 to £1,006.03

For 17 days in the property, from day 15 to the end of a 31 day month. Where the figure lands depends on which method your agent uses.

The two methods

Days you occupyMove-in day counts as a full day
17 of 31
Method 1: days in the monthRent divided by 31 gives £58.06 a day
£987.10
Method 2: the 365 methodAnnual rent divided by 365 gives £59.18 a day
£1,006.03
Difference between themAgents use either, so it is worth asking which one your agreement specifies
£18.93

Worth knowing

Neither method is wrong and the difference is usually small, but it is real money, so ask the agent which method they use and check it matches the invoice. In a 31 day month the 365 method costs you slightly more per day; in February it works the other way round. For a full first month at this rent you would pay £1,800 regardless.

Save the working

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Common questions

Which pro-rata method is the standard one?

There is no single standard. Dividing the monthly rent by the number of days in that month is common because it is simple, while the 365 method (annual rent divided by 365 for a daily rate) is popular with larger agencies because the daily rate stays the same all year. Neither is wrong, and whichever your tenancy agreement specifies is the one that applies. If the agreement is silent, ask the agent to show their working before you pay.

Does pro-rata rent apply at the end of a tenancy too?

It can. If your tenancy legally ends partway through a rental period, for instance on the last day of a fixed term that does not line up with the rent date, you should only owe rent up to the end date, calculated pro-rata. If you leave early without ending the tenancy properly, you remain liable for the full rent until it ends. Any overpaid rent beyond the tenancy end date should be refunded, and it is worth asking for the calculation in writing.

Will my rent due date change after a mid-month move-in?

Usually one of two things happens. Either you pay a pro-rata amount for the part month and then pay on the 1st of each month from then on, or your due date simply becomes the day of the month you moved in, the 15th for example, with no pro-rata needed. Both are normal. The first is tidier for standing orders and payday timing, so if you have a preference, raise it before signing rather than after.

How do I convert a weekly rent into a monthly figure?

Multiply the weekly rent by 52 and divide by 12. A month is not four weeks, it is about 4.33 weeks, so the shortcut of multiplying weekly rent by four understates the true monthly cost. Listings sometimes quote weekly figures partly because they look smaller, so always do the times 52, divide by 12 conversion before comparing a weekly listing with a monthly one.