Setting advance and deposit on a listing

The two figures are recorded separately, totalled for the renter, and compared against a stated limit.

5 min readLandlords & ownersProperty managersRenters

Advance and deposit are not the same figure

Advance is rent paid before it falls due, and it is not coming back. A deposit is security, and it is refundable at the end of the tenancy subject to the state of the property.

The listing records them as separate numbers of months, and they are shown separately, because merging them into one "upfront" figure hides the distinction that matters most when a tenancy ends.

The move-in total

Whatever period your rent is quoted in, it is converted to a monthly figure so that listings on different billing cycles can be compared. Advance, deposit and any fees are then added into a single move-in total.

This is deliberate. A renter looking at GHS 2,500 a month should not have to work out for themselves that moving in means finding GHS 35,000.

The advance limit

Advance above twelve months on a residential or student property is flagged as unusual. Twelve is the market norm in Ghana, and a threshold set below the norm would fire on almost every listing, which trains everyone to ignore it.

The flag is a warning, not a block. Whether a specific demand is lawful is a legal question about a specific tenancy, and blocking publication would have this platform ruling on it.

Commercial leases are not measured against this limit. It is a residential tenancy protection, and applying it to offices would produce a warning on every commercial listing.

What renters are told

At six months of advance or more, the listing carries neutral information: that the Rent Act 1963 (Act 220) restricts advance rent, and that the Rent Control Department can explain where a renter stands before they pay. It does not say the landlord is doing anything wrong, because twelve months is standard practice here.

Above twelve months the wording changes. The renter is told the demand is more than is typically asked in Ghana, that they can ask for it to be reduced, and where to get advice.

Short-lets

A short-let cannot demand more than one month in advance. That one is an error and blocks publication outright.

Short-lets also cannot yet express a nightly or weekly rate — the billing periods available run from monthly to two-yearly. A nightly let priced here will show a monthly figure, which is a known limitation rather than a pricing decision.

Still stuck?

Email info@domicium.com or WhatsApp +233 54 012 8220. To report a listing or a person, use complaints in your dashboard.