If something is due by a date what does that mean
Does the fact that a payment is due on day x, as specified in the contract, indicate that it must be made before that day, or that it may be made at any point before 11:59 p.m. on day x?
For instance, I have heard of a property management company that states that “rent is due on the first of each month,” but if the rent is not received by the time the office has opened on that day, the tenant is assessed a late fee for the rent and receives an irate phone call at nine in the morning.
In most contexts, the phrase “due on” is understood to have its conventional meaning, which is that the fulfillment of a contractual obligation must occur on or before the date that was given.
In the event that it is not defined in the contract, a court will seek to see what may be considered reasonable given the situation. For instance, if a payment is due to a business that is open for business 24 hours a day, including the day when the payment is due, then payment made up to midnight may be considered acceptable.
However, if the person making the payment is unaware that the company keeps such unusually long hours, and especially if they are aware that the company keeps standard business hours, then it is highly unlikely that it would be reasonable for them to make the payment after the business has closed for the day.
In response to your inquiry, and based on my research into various pieces of Canadian residential rent legislation, I can tell you that while none of them define due on specifically – and I would not expect them to do so – the vast majority of them contain clauses that provide for termination, and they only refer to serving notice either a certain number of days after rent falls due, or the day after rent falls due. This is the only provision that addresses termination.
This would lend credence to my contention that rent is due on or before the day mentioned, unless the contract expressly states otherwise, which is in keeping with the factors that were discussed before.
Note that while though rent is often due in advance, this does not suggest that you are paying for the time that has already passed; rather, it indicates that you are paying for the time that will follow, or the time that will considerably follow.
