key money

American  

noun

1. advance rent or security required of a new tenant and given in exchange for the key to the house or apartment.

2. an amount of money paid, often secretly, to a landlord, superintendent, or current tenant by a person desiring future tenancy.

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key money British  

noun

1. a fee payment required from a new tenant of a house or flat before he moves in

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Etymology

Origin of key money

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

The key money rate, the overnight repo rate, is languishing at a 1-1/2-year low below 1%, and data due as early as Wednesday will show the state of new loans and total money supply.

From Reuters • Aug. 5, 2022

The president added: “It’s a little bit like the landlord-tenant. Without a lease, the tenant has nothing. So they pay what’s called key money or they pay something.”

From Washington Post • Aug. 3, 2020

It spared no expense, splurging on "key money" - cash up front to secure the best locations.

From Reuters • Feb. 11, 2015

“We are absolutely shocked at the key money changing hands,” said Helen Franks, Grosvenor’s head of commercial and retail leasing in London.

From BusinessWeek • Apr. 13, 2011

It would cost half her wage to find a furnished flat with the comfort she now has; it would take $3,000 "key money" to get an unfurnished apartment.

From Time Magazine Archive