How Much Advance Rent Can a Landlord Legally Demand?
Disclaimer: This is general information, not legal advice. Section numbers and penalties under the Premises Rent Control Act 1991 are reported differently by different commentators. Confirm the current text with the Rent Controller's office or a qualified lawyer before acting.
Ask almost any tenant in Dhaka what they paid to move in and the answer is three months' advance. Sometimes six. Occasionally twelve. Ask what the law allows, and almost nobody knows.
The gap between those two answers is the subject of this guide.
What the law actually says
Tenancies in Bangladesh are governed by the Premises Rent Control Act, 1991. On advance money, the Act is far stricter than common practice suggests:
A landlord may not take a security deposit — not as salami, not as premium, not under any other name.
A landlord may not take more than one month's rent in advance without the prior written permission of the Rent Controller.
There is one narrow exception: a long lease of not less than twenty years granted for development purposes, where a premium may be allowed.
So the ordinary Dhaka arrangement — three months' advance, non-refundable, agreed verbally — has no basis in the Act.
Why nobody follows it
Three reasons, and it is worth being honest about all three:
1.
Demand outruns supply. In sought-after areas a landlord can simply move to the next applicant, so the tenant who insists on the law loses the flat.
2.
Penalties are weak. The Act's fines were set in 1991 and have never been revised for inflation. Commentators disagree on the exact figures — some describe a multiple of the excess amount, others a flat sum in the low thousands of taka — but all agree the deterrent is negligible today.
3.
Almost nobody files. Enforcement requires a tenant to approach the Rent Controller, which most will not do while they still need the flat.
What a tenant can realistically do
Insisting on the one-month rule will often cost you the flat. These steps are more practical:
Get every taka in writing. A receipt naming the amount, the date, and what it is for turns a disputed payment into a documented one. Refusal to issue a receipt is itself a warning sign.
Write the refund terms into the agreement. State when the advance is returned, what may be deducted, and within how many days after vacating. "Adjusted against the last months' rent" is clearer than "refundable", because it is self-executing.
Record the flat's condition on day one. Photograph every room, the fittings, the meters and any existing damage, and email the set to yourself and the landlord. Most deposit disputes are arguments about who broke what.
Know where the Rent Controller sits. You may never need the office, but a landlord who learns the tenant knows it exists often becomes more reasonable.
Questions tenants ask
Is a three-month advance illegal?
Without the Rent Controller's prior written permission, it is outside what the Act permits. Common, but not lawful.
Can the landlord keep the advance if I leave early?
The agreement governs, which is exactly why the refund terms matter. The Act does not entitle a landlord to retain money as a penalty.
Can rent be raised whenever the landlord likes?
No. The Act provides for a fair rent and limits how often it may be increased. A yearly increase written into the agreement is the norm in practice.
Does any of this apply to short stays?
A holiday or serviced stay of a few nights is a different kind of arrangement, and the booking terms govern it.
Where HomeNet fits
Most of the pressure to pay a large advance comes through a broker who has no stake in the tenancy that follows. On HomeNet you talk to the owner directly — which is also the person who can actually agree to the terms above.
Browse flats to rent and ask the owner about the advance before you visit.