Rent "Due On" and "Due By" and Grace Periods

I'd like to talk a bit about the differences in the terminology and implied meanings of "due on" and "due by". 

• “due on” implies that something is due on that day, maybe by a certain time on that day, but on that day. 
• “due by” implies that it’s due before that specific day, that when that day hits, it’s considered late.

Unfortunately with rent, it’s a bit tricky as it tends to violate these rules to some degree, and/or becomes a bit of a hybrid.  Most management companies state rent is “due on” the 1st or some day, for instance.  This means that, as long as it’s paid on this date, even if it's by a specific time, it's not considered late.  It's only late after this date.

This brings us to an important point.  When you're talking about grace period days, it's common to say rent is due on the first and late on the 5th.  The problem with this is that this is often thought of as a 5 day grace period. 

Technically, if rent was due on the 1st, it's first late on the 2nd, or after a certain time on the 1st.  In RentPost's case, it's late at midnight on the 2nd, the start of the 2nd.  This means that that the 2nd is the first grace period day.  So the 3rd is the 2nd grace period day, the 4th the 3rd, the 5th the 4th grace period day.

So, it's important to keep in mind the "due on" vs "due by" scenario when calculating grace period days and the lateness of charges.  In RentPost, we use a "due on" model.  So, all charges are late the day after they're "due".