Glossary

Cash for Keys

A negotiated payment offered to a resident, or in a post-foreclosure context a prior owner-occupant, in exchange for voluntarily vacating the premises promptly and undamaged, avoiding the time, cost, and uncertainty of a formal eviction proceeding.

Cash for keys is a cost-benefit alternative to filing an eviction: the payment amount is weighed against the eviction filing cost, the court timeline, which varies enormously by jurisdiction and can run from a few weeks to many months, lost rent during the vacancy-plus-legal-process period, and unit-condition risk from a resident who has no further incentive to maintain the unit once eviction becomes inevitable. The tactic is widely used both in routine multifamily non-payment or holdover situations and, in a distinct context, in post-foreclosure or REO single-family and small multifamily settings to clear a title of an occupant without a contested unlawful-detainer action. A cash-for-keys agreement is typically documented in a signed release specifying a move-out date, required unit condition, and waiver of further claims, since an undocumented cash payment offers the owner no enforceable protection if the resident later fails to vacate as promised.