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

See Examples For:

key money

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

“Without a lease, the tenant has nothing - so they pay what’s called key money or they pay something.”

From Reuters ● Aug. 4, 2020

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

“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

Seekers of office space fare little better, typically have to put up so much key money to obtain access to new buildings that they end up in effect financing the owner's construction costs.

From Time Magazine Archive