A real promotion can still leave important questions unanswered
During research, AMLI Aero's public leasing portal in San Diego displayed a promotion dated 22 June–31 October 2026 offering a maximum of ten weeks of base-rent relief and parking benefits, subject to conditions. Its public conditions referred readers to the leasing office. That establishes an advertised promotion; it does not establish the credit schedule, every eligible unit or what happens if a resident leaves early. [1]
We therefore have not calculated that property's effective rent or ranked it against another building. A signed concession addendum, an itemised fee schedule and matching move-in dates would be needed. The worked example below is deliberately separate from that operator and its offer.
This is also why a property photograph or floor-plan price cannot prove a twelve-month saving. A listing can advertise one lease length while a renter needs another. Availability can change between an initial search and an application. Save the dated quote and confirm that its unit number, lease dates and concessions appear in the documents you are actually being asked to sign.
Give each number a name
For this guide, base rent means the recurring rent before the illustrative credit. Net effective base rent means total base rent after that credit divided by the number of lease months. Total known lease cost adds the assumed mandatory recurring charges and nonrefundable one-time charges. These are our calculation labels; a particular advertisement may use different terminology.
The example assumes twelve full calendar months, no partial-month proration and a USD 2,400 credit applied entirely in month two. The credit is earned and retained for the full tenancy. There is also a fictional USD 80 mandatory monthly charge and a USD 250 nonrefundable move-in charge. No utilities, optional parking, pet charges, insurance, taxes, late charges or moving-company costs are included.
Base rent is USD 2,400 × 12, less USD 2,400: USD 26,400. Dividing by twelve gives USD 2,200. Adding twelve USD 80 charges and USD 250 produces a known lease cost of USD 27,610, or about USD 2,300.83 a month. That final average is an allocation for comparison, not the promised monthly invoice.
The fictional payment calendar shows the cash-flow problem
| When | Base rent payable | Other assumed charges | Cash payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 2,400 | 80 + 250 | 2,730 |
| Month 2: credit applied | 0 | 80 | 80 |
| Months 3–12, each month | 2,400 | 80 | 2,480 |
| Full lease | 26,400 | 1,210 | 27,610 |
Budgeting USD 2,300.83 every month would describe the average, but it would not fund the USD 2,730 first payment without additional cash. After the credit month, the recurring payment returns to USD 2,480. A household can set aside the credit month's saving to smooth its own budget; that does not change the landlord's billing schedule.
If the same USD 2,400 credit were instead spread as USD 200 across all twelve months, base rent payable would be USD 2,200 each month. With the same fees, month one would cost USD 2,530 and the remaining months USD 2,280 each. The total would still be USD 27,610. The timing, rather than the total concession, explains the difference.
Now assume a separate, fully refundable USD 1,000 security deposit due at move-in. Upfront cash in the first calendar becomes USD 3,730. The deposit is not added to the USD 27,610 cost on the assumption that it is returned in full. Whether money is refundable, when it comes back and what deductions are permitted depend on the actual agreement and local rules.
Compare complete leases, not the size of the free-rent headline
Consider a second fictional apartment: USD 2,250 base rent for twelve months, no rent concession, USD 30 a month in mandatory charges and the same USD 250 one-time charge. Its comparable cost is USD 27,610. It ties the first apartment even though one advertises a free month and the other does not.
The tie depends on the inputs. It disappears if one apartment requires parking you do not need, includes a utility the other excludes, or offers the concession only on a fifteen-month lease. Compare the same occupancy period first. If terms differ, also write down what you would owe to remain housed after the shorter lease ends; an unknown renewal price is an uncertainty, not zero.
Mandatory fees deserve their own line. The FTC's renter guidance advises asking for written confirmation of charges beyond advertised rent. Its separate rental-fee rulemaking page describes a proceeding to consider regulation, rather than a universal new rule already covering every lease. Neither source can tell you the fee schedule for your chosen apartment. [2] [3]
Ask for these answers before treating a concession as money saved
- Which exact unit and move-in date qualify, and what lease length is required?
- Does the credit apply to base rent only, and in which billing periods?
- Must rent be paid in full first and credited later?
- Which monthly and one-time charges are mandatory, optional or refundable?
- What does the concession addendum say about early departure, missed payments or repayment of the credit?
- What is the base rent shown in the lease, and when does the current offer expire?
Do not assume that a credit will repeat at renewal. As a simple sensitivity check, removing the fictional USD 2,400 concession raises annual base rent paid from USD 26,400 to USD 28,800 even with the quoted base rent unchanged. That is a different mechanism from the landlord increasing the base rent itself.
Use our whole-cost housing comparison to add travel and other location costs after the lease arithmetic is clear. For a related look at why market averages do not settle a household's moving decision, read rent headlines versus the cost of moving; its tenancy rules are specific to Ontario.
Method and limits: The calculations are original arithmetic using invented inputs. No private lease, resident ledger or concession addendum has been authenticated. This article should be updated if verified contract documents support a real matched comparison; the public promotion is evidence of advertising observed during research, not a guarantee of current availability.
Read the underlying guidance.
- AMLI Aero floor plans and published promotionAMLI Residential · checked 2026-09-28. Advertised promotion dates and scope; public conditions refer readers to the office. Not a complete lease comparison.
- Moving this summer? Watch for rental scamsFederal Trade Commission · checked 2026-09-28. Written confirmation of additional fees.
- Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Rental Housing Fee PracticesFederal Trade Commission · checked 2026-09-28. Rulemaking status and advertised-rent fee issue; not a final nationwide rule.
Source and arithmetic checks by the producing AI, followed by a separate AI editorial review. Human English editing and subject-specialist review have not been completed. Actual lease and concession addendum; matched current unit quotes; local tenant-law and human English review.
