Commencement or Start of Day
Just when does the day begin? Sometimes, a minute or two can make a real difference.
For real estate, there are days and then there are days. There are closing days, banking days, business days, days in a month, and in a year.
When does a tenant have to leave? What actual time of day? When does the new tenant get to move in? These are all very important.
Sometimes, an insurance policy will not start until 12:01 am. What time is that? Are we missing a minute here?
Sometimes, coverage might end at 11:59 pm. Are we missing a minute here? And, of course, the real question is whether there is a two minute intervening period between the two times.
Start of the Day
The day actually starts at the moment that the previous day ended. The reason for that is that there will be no gaps in time.
If you were involved in any sort of scientific operation which required the use of continuous time, then the start of a day would be 00.00.00. The end of the previous day would be 23:59:59.
Contract Alarm Services for a Tenant
The time can make a significant difference. Consider a contract for the supply of services and the assumption of the contract by the new Tenant. If it expires before it is taken over by the new Tenant, then there may be significant penalties associated with the termination and start-up of a new contract (deposits etc.).
What if there are significant penalties imposed by an alarm company for early termination? What if the contract were terminated at 11:59 pm. There is still one minute left in the day.
What if the new Tenant moves in at 12:01 am, and would like to take over the alarm system contract?
Let’s assume two more facts, first, there is a $2,500.00 penalty for early termination, and 2) there is a $5,000.00 deposit for new business.
The alarm company might decide to charge the old tenant $2,500.00 for early termination and the new tenant the $5,000.00 deposit.
In many situations, it is better to simply proceed with an assumption. However, it does have to be assumed correctly. That means that an agent should look at the alarm contract before offering any advice or guidance with respect to its assumption.
Expression of Time
In most cases, precise time is not really an issue
Expressing 12:00 am, 12:00 pm, 24:00 and so on do lead to possible confusion if precision in time is required. These are just times placed on clocks and watches. It would all depend upon the particular manufacturer as to what standards were chosen to be employed.
If you had a 24 hour clock and it ran continuously, it would start at 00:00:00 and it would end the day at 23:59:59. Of course, there are an immeasurable number of milliseconds between 23:59:59 the end of today, and 00:00:00 the start of tomorrow. There really cannot be a 24:00:00 or that would throw and extra second into the mix.
There are good reasons for knowing what time it is and when things start and finish.
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker
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