Middle of month move in: pay entire rent or pro-rated rent (apartment, leasing)

[newbienyc]

Hi everyone,

So I finally found an apartment and I signed the papework and got my key 6/17. My landlord is demanding that I pay for the whole month of June. But I think that my rent should be prorated since I wasn't there for most of the month. Do I have any recourse or is it up to the landlord? Thanks.

[rlrl]

when i vacated my rental in a co-op bldg ( i was asked to leave because the landlord was selling the apts) i turned in the keys on the 12th of june

the landlord was holding 2 months rent as security. i didn't pay the june rent at all so i received back the one months security and the other months security was prorated

but my current lease i believe says the tenant cannot prorate unless the landlord makes other arrangements

[rlrl]

lease began on 6/1 but my landlord gave me the keys right after i gave him the money and signed the lease which was a few days before 6/1

[Fred314X]

I don't think the landlord has the right to ask you to pay for the whole month, if you've only been there since the 17th. But he or she certainly does have more than the usual quota of nerve! If it was me, I'd be checking in with the NYC Department of Housing.

[newbienyc]

Thanks for the advice, rl and fred!

[dixiecupdrinking]

No way you should have to, but did the lease you signed start on 6/1? If so, you may be out of luck at this point. Your landlord sounds like a winner, though.

[xxkazp3rxx]

I moved in middle of the month, and had to pay full months rent; but, the discount came on my 2nd month.

But i agree with above.. if your lease states June 1st, you might be SOL... you have to pay from when you had access to the apt, not when you actually move in.

[EricBoyd]

Old post, I see. But, one thing I do, as a property manager, is have the 1st rent payment be a full month's rent, regardless of what date the lease starts. Then, for the 2nd month, I charge the prorated amount from the "1st month". My reasoning is that it helps ensure the new tenant isn't just trying to get into a place for very little money with secret plans to not pay the first full month when it's due. That may sound paranoid, but I've seen it happen. Also, there are leasing fees, referral fees, lease preparation fees, and sometimes repair fees due on the property from being vacant, so with a full month of rent in hand, I am able to get those payments made sooner than later.

[jcoltrane]

Just an exercise that some of you may or may not appreciate.

The OP actually has an interesting question. Of course, he doesn't provide ALL the facts, but with a little supposition, I believe the circumstances to be thus:

The Tenant (the OP) probably agreed to rent the apartment on or around 6/1. He probably tendered a deposit amount to hold the apartment.

The Tenant signed the lease, received the apartment key, and, I presume, moved in on or about 6/17.

Hence, the disagreement.

The LL accepted the deposit and has held the apartment for the tenant, beginning 6/1. So, is the Tenant responsible for rent for the period the apartment was being held, 6/1 to 6/17?

Understand, that if the LL did not reserve/hold the apartment for said Tenant, then LL could have and would have rented said apartment to another prospective tenant, on or about 6/1.

Thoughts?