You’ve found the perfect apartment, and you’re ready to move in but the lease doesn’t start until the first of the next month, so what do you do? Sometimes due to work schedules or family circumstances, you need to move sooner than a lease will begin. Will a landlord allow you to move in early and if so, what does that look like?

Typically, an apartment lease will begin on the first of the month and whenever it comes to an end, it will be at the end of the month. This allows renters and those renting out their properties to be able to keep up with when rent is due. However, there are times whenever a renter needs to move in halfway through the month before the lease technically begins. Some landlords may not be willing to rent out an apartment early because either they want the rent to be due on the first, or because the apartment is not ready to be rented and still needs to be cleaned, or repairs need to be made. Other times, landlords will be glad to rent out the apartment early so that they are not losing out on a potential renter and they are saving money, in the long run.

 Here at Apartment Hunters, we wanted to break down what moving in early my look like for a renter. 

Requesting to Move In Early

Whenever you want to move in earlier than when your lease begins, just ask your landlord. Discuss with them the details of paying your deposit, and paying prorated rent. And sometimes, renters can even offer to clean the apartment themselves, if the landlord will let them move in early. This saves the landlord from having to hire a cleaning service and allows the renter to move in earlier than the typical lease start date. 

Moving in Early and Prorating Rent

Before moving into your new apartment, there are fees you will need to pay, no matter what time of the month you are moving in. These would be 

• The total rent price for the first month, and the last month.
• The security deposit that may or may not be given back to you at the end of your lease.
• Pet deposits, if you have a pet and the apartment requires a deposit.

If you move in early, your landlord will likely require you to pay prorated rent. Prorated rent, according to Trulia, is “a portion of the rental rate that matches whatever portion of the month you’re living in the apartment. So if you rent an apartment and don’t move in until the 20th of a 30-day month, your prorated rent would likely be one-third of your regular rental rate.”

There are not technically renter’s rights that are specific to prorated rent, and it is typically figured out between the renter and the landlord.  

How Do I Calculate My Prorated Rent?

Prorated rent is pretty simple to calculate. For example, if you are supposed to move in on the 1st of June, but choose to move in 10 days before, you would owe rent for 10 days before your lease start date begins. The best way to calculate this would be to take the total amount of monthly rent and divide it by how many days are in the month. So if you pay $700 a month and May has 31 days, you would divide $700 by 31 days, which is $22.58. Now, if you are moving in 10 days before the move-in date, you would multiply that daily rate by 10 days. So $22.58 times 10 days is $225.80. 

If you are not sure if you are calculating your prorated rent correctly, you can always speak with a professional at Apartment Hunters and have us figure it up for you, so you know exactly what you will owe your landlord to move in early.

Now that you know you have the option to potentially move into an apartment early, let us help you find the apartment of your dreams that would make you excited enough to want to move in today!