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Rent in advance
Abide.Rent will not record more than one rent period paid in advance on a new tenancy.
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When a tenancy is added, rent that was paid in advance can be recorded with it.
Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants.
The rent schedule and payments on a tenancy.
What you are deciding
How much rent in advance to record on a new tenancy.
Your options
- None. Leave the field empty. Nothing is recorded.
- Up to one rent period. One month's rent on a monthly tenancy, for example. The tenancy saves and the amount is shown on it.
- More than one rent period. The tenancy is not saved and you are told why. Abide.Rent applies this check because the Renters' Rights Act limits rent in advance.
A worked example
A tenancy at £1,200.00 a month starts on Tuesday 1 December 2026. Recording £1,200.00 paid in advance saves. Recording £3,600.00, 3 months' rent, is refused: the amount is more than one rent period.
What Abide.Rent does for you
- Compares the amount with the rent for one period before the tenancy is saved.
- Shows the amount paid in advance on the tenancy, where the tenant can see it too.
- Says which figure was refused, so you can correct it.
If something goes wrong
- “Rent must be more than £0.00.”
What to do: Enter the rent. - You need to record rent taken before the tenancy started
What to do: Record it as a payment on the rent account with the date it was received.
Common mistakes
- Entering the rent for a year and the advance for a month, so the two are not for the same period.
- Recording a deposit as rent in advance. A deposit has its own section.
What to do next
Keep reading
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