if i move into an apartment on the January 3rd, will i still have to pay for the rent for that month?

you always pay the rent on for the month you will live there. So YES, you would owe for the month of January BEFORE you move in. The question is how much would you owe: a full months (Jan 1-31) or part month (Jan 3-31). It depends on when the lease starts

You will pay January's rent (possibly pro-rated by a few days) BEFORE you move in, along with paying any security deposit due. Rents are ALWAYS paid in advance, and not AFTER you've lived there for a month.

Typically, you pay a deposit (in case of damage, they hold onto the deposit until you move out) and the first month's rent in advance, usually before the day you want to move in, once they approve your application. It depends on your state as to how much your deposit will be, in my area it is usually equal to one month's rent. Sometimes there may be a credit check, cleaning and key fee, too. Different areas have different laws/customs.

You pay rent in advance, if you pay rent on January 3rd, it's for living there the month of January. Some landlords will want to start a lease on the first of the month, so you may have to pay a full month's rent for January (in advance) if they want to start the lease on the first. Some will allow you to pay prorated rent, that means you just pay for the days you actually will be living in the apartment that first month. (However, if the rental period for their tenants is from the 3rd, always pay rent on the 3rd, then it is a full month's rent you'd pay. I once had a landlord who rented all the units from the 5th of the month, with rent due on the 5th.)

The things you need to know about are:

Deposit amount

Rent amount

Any other fees, such as credit check, cleaning, key fee?

Are any utilities included in the rent, such as water, electricity, trash, or gas? If not, ask who do you contact to turn them on or change them into your name.

When is rent due every month?

Who do you give your rent check to?

If rent is usually due the 1st of every month, will they let you pay prorated rent if you move in January 3rd? (monthly rent / days in month X days you live there during that month = prorated rent amount)

Do you have a month-to-month lease (where you give 30 days notice to move out) or longer, like 6 months or a year (you're not supposed to move out during that time).

Read your lease or rental agreement carefully. It may state things like you cannot have guests for more than 2 weeks at a time, or that you must notify the landlord of any guest that will stay for more than a couple of days. Also, it should state about pets, roommates, smoking, etc.

Good luck!

You pay for the days you are there. It should be prorated. So if you pay $1,000 you figure out your daily rate of $1,000/31 = $32.25 and then multiply it by the number of days you're going to be there (28). You'd owe $903 for January instead of $1,000.

Rent is always paid in advance meaning you're owe on January 3rd.

----edit----

As the first guy pointed out, it's technically from when you lease starts not from 'the days you are there' as I stated. I read your question as the 3rd was the day your lease was starting which isn't necessarily the case.

No you pay Security Deposit and rent before you move in. The rent for the month is paid on the 1st so 2nd rent payment would be due Feb. 1st

The rent for January is due before you move in. What did you think, that they let you live there a whole month for free?

You pay from the time your lease starts....regardless of when you move in.