Accrued rent income is the landlord's side of accrued rent: rent that has been earned because a tenant occupied the property during the period, but that has not yet been received or recorded when the books are closed. The full treatment of both sides of the lease is in that entry.
How the landlord records it
Rent is earned day by day as the tenant uses the space. Under the revenue recognition principle the landlord reports it in the period it is earned, whatever the payment date. Suppose a landlord lets a unit for $2,500 a month, payable at the end of each quarter. At its December 31 year end, two months of the quarter have passed and nothing has been received. The adjusting entry is a debit to Rent Receivable, also called accrued rent receivable, of $5,000 and a credit to Rent Revenue of $5,000.
The revenue then appears on the year's income statement and the receivable appears as a current asset. When the tenant pays $7,500 at the end of the quarter, the landlord debits Cash $7,500, credits Rent Receivable $5,000 and credits Rent Revenue $2,500 for the month that falls in the new year.
Accrued rent income is a specific case of accrued revenue, which covers any income earned before it is billed or collected, such as interest or fees.