Key money: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia
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Line 44: ==United States== In the United States, it is common to require key money in the form of a security deposit. The tenant pays one or two months' [[renting|rent]] up-front. These funds are then held in escrow and are used to offset delinquent payments or damage to the property. If neither happens, the money is refunded (typically with statutory interest) when the tenant vacates. Generally in the United States, apartment leases are not transferable without the consent of the landlord. The primary exception is the right to rent a space in a [[mobile home park]], which is frequently transferable, frequently rent-controlled, and frequently subject to French-style "key money" payments to the original tenant in the form of buying the current [[mobile home]] at an inflated price. The new tenant can then junk the existing, outdated trailer and replace it with a modern one while keeping the terms of the original lease for the land under it. Line 50: In the United States, it is illegal for landlords to require off-the-books key money. The terms of the written lease can be enforced in court. However, a cash [[bribe]], styled as "key money," may be demanded in cities with strict [[rent controls]]. Because it is paid in [[cash]], it can be very difficult to prove in court. When renting commercial properties in which the premises already contains various trade-fixtures, equipment, electric, and plumbing (items typically left when a former tenant vacates), such items have a value above the typical rent for an empty "vanilla shell" premises. The landlord would charge the tenant key money in order for the tenant to have the right to use and take over all of the existing equipment. ==Covert key money== | |||