A lump sum covering many months of rent, paid before you receive the keys.
The Rent Act caps it at six months on a monthly tenancy. Accra landlords routinely ask for twelve, and often twenty-four.
Why it persists: housing is scarce, so landlords set the terms; many landlords are using the advance as construction capital and are still building; and the Rent Control Department cannot police thousands of private tenancies.
The practical consequences are large. The advance, not the monthly rent, is what determines whether you can afford a place — and it is why so many people in Accra share rooms or live far out.
Always get a receipt naming the exact period the advance covers. Disputes about rent advance are almost always disputes about what period it bought.