Hypothetical example, you are moving in July 9th. Monthly rent is $5000.
What's wrong with this math?
Tenant days are July 9 to 31. 31-9 = 22, so 22 days.
$5000 * (22/31) = $3548
This is wrong.
Proof
if you move in on the 1st the math would show 30/31 days. It's actually 31/31 days.
if you move 31st the math would show 0 days. really, it's still 1 day remaining or 1/31.
The correct formula is to offset the day by -1 first.
You're counting 0..30 instead of 1..31.
monthly_rent * ((day_of_month - 1) / days_in_month)
So now it's:
8 to 31, 23 days
$5000 * (23/31) = $3710
You can save $162 or 1/31 of the monthly rent if your landlord can't do math.
I looked at various websites on prorated rent calculation they all do it like this, totally incorrectly. i couldn't find one that does it correctly.
Why does this work?
July 1st is the "first day of the month".
For rent calculations we want to ask "how many days are already behind us". The answer is on July 1st, 0 days are behind us.
Be nice to your landlord
Note, I am not suggesting stealing form your landlord, help them out and show them how the math works. Chances are they won't catch this unless you're moving in on the first or last day of the month.
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