Often a new tenant will not start their lease on the first of the month. While you could certainly have them pay each month on the date their lease started, that will mean each tenant is paying out of sync with the rest. That’s where prorated rent makes everyone’s life a little easier. When you prorate the rent, you adjust it to reflect the amount of time that the tenant has actually been living in the property, simplifying your rent calendar to just a few days you can expect to be paid within Is Prorating Rent a Good Idea? Prorating rent might at first seem to be primarily a benefit