What Can a Landlord Charge a Tenant in Ghana? (Advance Rent and Deposits)
For landlords, tenants and property managers. General information, not legal advice.
Direct answer: Section 25(5) of Ghana's Rent Act 1963 (Act 220) caps advance rent at 1 month's rent for a monthly-or-shorter tenancy, and at 6 months' rent for a tenancy exceeding six months. There is no lawful "1-2 years upfront" category in the statute, that is a widely reported market practice, not a legal tier, and it exceeds the cap. On top of this, a smaller refundable security deposit, typically around 1 month's rent, is common market practice and is a separate thing from advance rent. Section 33 of the Act also requires a landlord to give a written receipt for every payment, stating the premises, whether furnished or unfurnished, the amount, the period it covers and the tenant's name.
What the Law Actually Caps: Advance Rent Under Section 25(5)
Act 220 is specific about advance rent, and it is worth stating plainly because the gap between the law and common practice is large. Section 25(5) sets a maximum: for a tenancy that is monthly or shorter, a landlord may not demand or receive more than 1 month's rent in advance. For a tenancy exceeding six months, the cap rises, but only to a maximum of 6 months' rent in advance. There is no statutory basis for a 1-year or 2-year advance payment. Whatever the tenancy length, 6 months is the ceiling the Act itself sets.
The Common Practice You'll Hear About, and Why It's Not Lawful
In practice, it is widely reported that landlords in parts of Ghana, particularly in cities with tight rental markets, ask tenants for one or even two years of rent upfront. This is common, and many tenants pay it because they feel they have no other way to secure a property. It is worth being direct about this: that practice is not a second, higher legal tier sitting alongside the 6-month cap, it exceeds what Section 25(5) of Act 220 actually allows. Be careful with anyone who presents a year or two of advance rent as simply how things are done, as opposed to what the law permits. A tenant who has been asked for more than the statutory cap has a basis to push back, including through the Rent Control Department, even if, in practice, enforcement against this common practice is inconsistent.
The Separate "Security Deposit" (Not the Same as Advance Rent)
Distinct from advance rent, it is common market practice in Ghana for a landlord to also ask for a smaller refundable deposit, often around 1 month's rent, held against damage to the property or unpaid bills rather than against future rent. This deposit is customary practice rather than something Act 220 specifically regulates, there is no clear statutory refund timeline for it in the Act. Where a dispute arises over whether a deposit should be refunded, or how much, the Rent Control Department can mediate. Because there is no fixed statutory number for its refund, the amount, purpose and expected refund timing are exactly the kind of thing that should be written into the tenancy agreement rather than left to assumption.
The Receipt You're Entitled To: Section 33
This part of Act 220 is unambiguous. Section 33 requires a landlord to give a tenant a written receipt at the time of payment, and that receipt has to specify the premises, whether they are let furnished or unfurnished, the amount paid, the period the payment covers, and the tenant's name. This is a direct statutory requirement, not a courtesy, and it applies regardless of how much was paid or what it was for. A tenant who is not given a receipt should ask for one, and a landlord who skips this step is not meeting a basic obligation under the Act.
What Landlords Should Do
Keep advance rent within the Section 25(5) cap, 1 month for a monthly-or-shorter tenancy, up to 6 months for a longer one, and do not treat a year or two upfront as a safe default just because it is common in your market. If you also take a separate security deposit, put its amount, purpose and refund terms in writing in the tenancy agreement, since the Act does not set that timeline for you. Issue a written receipt for every payment, with the premises, furnished status, amount, period and tenant's name, exactly as Section 33 requires. Keep the deposit separate from rent in your own records, since it is not rent income and you may have to return it.
What Tenants Should Do
If you are asked for more than 6 months of advance rent, know that this exceeds what Act 220 allows, whatever is common in your area. Get the security deposit amount and refund terms in writing before you pay, since the law does not fix a refund timeline for you. Insist on a written receipt for every payment, stating the amount, the period it covers and your name, this is your right under Section 33, not a favour. If a deposit dispute comes up at the end of a tenancy, the Rent Control Department can mediate.
Recording Deposits and Fees in Domby
Each tenant record in Domby has optional fields for the security deposit and the rent amount, so what was agreed at the start sits on the tenant record rather than in a chat thread. Rent payments are recorded separately from the deposit, so your rent history stays clean, and receipts are generated from the actual payment record rather than typed from scratch each time.
What Domby does not do is hold the deposit or process a refund, or decide whether an amount a landlord is asking for is within the statutory cap. That judgement, and the money itself, stays between landlord and tenant, so keep your own written record either way.
FAQ
No. Section 25(5) of the Rent Act 1963 (Act 220) caps advance rent at 1 month's rent for a monthly-or-shorter tenancy and at 6 months' rent for a tenancy exceeding six months. Asking for a year or two upfront is common in some markets, but it is not a lawful category under the Act, it exceeds the statutory cap.
6 months' rent, and only for a tenancy that runs longer than six months. For a monthly-or-shorter tenancy, the cap is 1 month's rent. These figures come directly from Section 25(5) of Act 220.
No. Advance rent is rent paid before it is due, capped by Section 25(5). A security deposit is a separate, smaller refundable amount, often around 1 month's rent, held against damage or unpaid bills. There is no specific statutory refund timeline for the deposit in Act 220, it is customary practice, so put the terms in writing.
Yes. Section 33 of Act 220 requires a written receipt at the time of payment, stating the premises, whether furnished or unfurnished, the amount, the period it covers and the tenant's name. This is a direct statutory requirement.
The request exceeds what Section 25(5) of Act 220 allows. A tenant can raise this with the landlord directly or, if a dispute follows, with the Rent Control Department, though in practice enforcement against this common but non-compliant practice is inconsistent.
No. Domby records the deposit and rent amounts on the tenant record and generates receipts from the payment history, but it does not hold funds, process refunds, or determine whether a specific amount complies with the law. Get local legal advice for a disputed amount.
Related guides
See how much notice a landlord must give in Ghana and a tenant's rights in Ghana. For the agreement itself, see the free tenancy agreement template for Ghana and the free rent receipt generator for Ghana. See also the Nigeria guide on how landlords create a tenancy agreement, whose record-keeping advice applies the same way. Browse all landlord guides.
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