Key Money - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition key-money

Definition :

Key money, means (1) Payment (as rent or security) required from a new tenant in exchange for a key to the leased property (2) Payment made by a prospective tenant to a landlord or current tenant to increase the chance of obtaining a lease in an area where there is a housing shortage. Key money in the first sense is a legal transaction; Key money in the second sense is usu. an illegal bribe that violates housing laws. Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 873.