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Since the apartment complex I moved into state they do not prorate rent, but I was still asked to pay the full month's rent value on the 29th, I assumed that meant I would have to pay every 30 days as opposed to them prorating the first payment for the 1st of the following month. Instead, 2 days after paying a full month's rent, I'm being asked to pay another full month's rent on the 1st of this month because "we dont prorate rent". In the lease agreement it says "we don't prorate rent" without stating anything further about losing the remaining value of rent paid.

In addition to being curious about the legal interpretation of "we dont prorate rent", I'm wondering even if the language is valid, whether they still may have violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, since a reasonable person would assume being asked to pay non prorated rent on the 29th just means rather than prorating it for the 1st, youll just be asked to pay again 30 days later.

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  • I'm not sure how a court would judge the perceptions of a "reasonable" person here. One of the very first things I always ask before any move is about exactly when and how much I'm expected to pay. And a clause like "we do not prorate rent", if made quite obvious to you before signing, strikes me as a pretty obvious thing to ask about how it applies to you and your particular plans. It has happened before that I've had to change my planned move date so as not to incur such back-to-back payments (but I've no experience with Florida, and did not investigate if I could contest it anyway). – zibadawa timmy Jun 2 '18 at 6:04
  • @zibadawatimmy they originally told me "your rent starts on your move in date", and I'm a new renter like many of the college students here, and I never imagined anyone in their right mind would expect me to pay for days I was not living nor scheduled to live in an apt. – john doe Jun 2 '18 at 6:11
  • Well if, for example, you signed before the start of that month, then all of the days between then and your move-in date they are most likely making zero money off of the property and just holding it for you: they are now obligated to have it available for you on the specified date, in suitable condition, and trying to have a "three week renter" to fill the gap is a lot of risk of violating both of those. This is the usual type of justification for such clauses, to my understanding. But how Florida handles these things, I don't know. – zibadawa timmy Jun 2 '18 at 6:18
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    @zibadawatimmy gotcha. Well that wasnt the case here as they refused to give me a sooner move in date even though I asked for one. They also originally had me sign a 3 month lease which is what I wanted then once I paid and came to move in they said "ok now you have to sign a 12 month lease or you can't move in" without seemingly any such provisions in the original lease. – john doe Jun 2 '18 at 6:22
  • Well that's a much different problem than what you state in the post; strikes me as a much bigger one, too. And if I were you I'd be concerned if those two days count as one of those months on your lease (ie, your 3 months may be over at the end of july, rather than the end of august). – zibadawa timmy Jun 2 '18 at 6:26

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