How much rent a landlord can ask upfront, by country
Before the keys change hands a landlord may ask for a deposit, and the five statutes set very different ceilings. Ontario allows one month's rent at most and bars other upfront charges, Spain fixes the cash deposit at one month for a home, Germany and the Netherlands allow three months and two months, and Norway allows six months of rent as deposit with the rent itself payable no more than a month ahead. Germany adds the right to pay its deposit in three instalments.
Scope of this guide
Canada: the Canada Labour Code (federal sector) and the Ontario statutes that LawAsked has loaded. Other provinces are not compared.
| Country | Maximum deposit | Other upfront payments |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | The lesser of one rent period and one month's rent | None: no key deposit, fee or other like amount may be collected |
| Germany | Three months' rent, excluding service charges paid as a lump sum or in advance | The tenant may pay the deposit in three equal monthly instalments, the first due at the start of the tenancy |
| Spain | One month's rent for housing; two months for other uses | An additional guarantee of up to two months' rent for housing leases of up to five years |
| Netherlands | Twice the monthly rent | |
| Norway | Six months' rent (guarantee and deposit together) | Rent may not be agreed to be paid more than one month in advance; up to three months in student housing |
Country by country
Canada
- Rule
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 ss. 105, 106, 134
- Ontario residential tenancies. The only security deposit allowed is a rent deposit, which must be asked for on or before entering the tenancy agreement. Section 134 applies "unless otherwise prescribed".
The only security deposit that a landlord may collect is a rent deposit collected in accordance with section 106. The amount of a rent deposit shall not be more than the lesser of the amount of rent for one rent period and the amount of rent for one month. a fee, premium, commission, bonus, penalty, key deposit or other like amount of money whether or not the money is refundable Germany
- Rule
- BGB § 551
- Applies to security a tenant must give; a term worse for the tenant is void.
höchstens das Dreifache der auf einen Monat entfallenden Mieteist der Mieter zu drei gleichen monatlichen Teilzahlungen berechtigtDie erste Teilzahlung ist zu Beginn des Mietverhältnisses fällig. Spain
- Rule
- Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos art. 36
- The cash deposit is compulsory. Public bodies listed in art. 36.6 are exempt.
fianza en metálico en cantidad equivalente a una mensualidad de renta en el arrendamiento de viviendas y de dos en el arrendamiento para uso distinto del de viviendael valor de esta garantía adicional no podrá exceder de dos mensualidades de renta Netherlands
- Rule
- BW Boek 7 art. 261b
- The deposit is a term that the lease may include. It must be refunded within fourteen days after the lease ends, or within thirty days where there is damage or unpaid rent.
De waarborgsom bedraagt ten hoogste tweemaal de huurprijs Norway
- Rule
- Husleieloven §§ 3-2, 3-5, 11-2
- The advance rule applies to housing rented under the Act; the student housing exception in § 11-2 is an exception to § 3-2 and allows agreement of advance payment for up to three months.
oppad begrenset til summen av seks måneders leie Det kan ikke avtales forskuddsbetaling for lengre tid enn én måned. kan det avtales forskuddsbetaling for inntil tre måneder Countries not in this table yet
The United Kingdom, Austria, Sweden and Japan are not shown because the ingested tenancy statutes state no cap on a deposit or on rent in advance (Austrian and Swedish provisions on deposits and guarantees do not give a figure). The United States, Australia and France have no tenancy statute ingested.
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
Use this data
The table and the CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit LawAsked and link to this page. Quoted statute text stays under the terms of its official source.
How to cite this page
LawAsked, “How much rent a landlord can ask upfront, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/advance-rent-limits (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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