How to Get Your Rental Deposit Back
October 2026
A deposit is often one to three months' rent, and getting it back is mostly about what you do on the first day and the last. This guide covers both, and what the law says in six countries about how fast the money must come back.
When you move in
- Get the deposit in the contract. The amount, where it is held, and what it covers.
- Check it is within the legal cap. Finding Affordable Apartments lists the caps for Norway, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, France and Spain.
- Record the state of the flat. Go through it room by room with the landlord, write down every mark and fault, and both sign it. Take dated photos and video of everything, including inside cupboards and appliances.
- Get a receipt for the deposit, and keep it with the contract.
When you move out
- Give notice in writing, as the contract says.
- Clean properly and repair what you broke. Normal wear from living there, such as faded paint or worn floors, is not damage.
- Do the inspection together and compare it with the one from moving in. Take photos again.
- Hand back every key and get a written receipt.
- Send your bank details and new address in writing, so the landlord cannot say they did not know where to pay.
How long the landlord has
| Country | Deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 14 days after the lease ends; 30 days if the landlord deducts costs, with a written breakdown | Rijksoverheid |
| France | One month if the flat is as it was at move-in, two months otherwise; each month late adds 10% of the monthly rent | Service-Public.fr |
| Spain | After one month from handing back the keys, the deposit earns legal interest until it is repaid | Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, art. 36 |
| Norway | The money is in an account in your name. Ask the bank to pay it out: unless the landlord shows within five weeks that they have brought a legal claim, the bank pays you | Husleieloven § 3-5 |
| Germany | No fixed deadline in the law; courts give the landlord a reasonable time to check for claims, commonly up to about six months, longer in special cases | Berliner Mieterverein |
| Italy | No fixed deadline, but the deposit earns legal interest, paid to you each year | Law 392/1978, art. 11 |
What a landlord may keep
Rules differ, but deductions generally have to be for something real:
- Unpaid rent
- Unpaid service charges or utilities you owed
- Damage beyond normal wear, which the landlord should be able to show
The Netherlands lists exactly four: rent arrears, service charges, damage the tenant is responsible for, and the energy performance fee. Administration fees are not allowed. In Germany, a landlord waiting for the year's service-charge bill may hold back a reasonable part of the deposit for it, not all of it.
Always ask for an itemised list, with receipts, for anything kept back.
If the money does not come
- Write to the landlord with the amount, your bank details and a deadline, and keep a copy.
- Use the local dispute body or tenants' union. In Norway, rent disputes go to Husleietvistutvalget; in Germany, a Mieterverein can advise and write for you; in France, the departmental conciliation commission handles deposit disputes for free.
- Go to the small-claims court as a last resort. Your photos, the two inspection reports and the receipts are what win the case.
Deposit rules change; check the linked page for your country before you rely on a deadline.