In our practice recently, we are increasingly faced with tenants who do not get their security deposit back from their landlords at the end of the lease. What exactly is the situation?
Articlel 7:261b DCC regulates the security deposit for residential rentals.It prescribes that the landlord must refund the deposit within 14 days of the end of the lease, unless there is damage for which the tenant is liable or the tenant still has a debt to the landlord. If there is damage, the landlord must refund the deposit within thirty days of the end of the lease after offsetting the cost of repairs.
Pursuant to article 7:224 paragraph 2 DCC prescribes that the tenant must deliver the leased property in the same condition as it was accepted according to the description made at the beginning of the lease. The same article also provides that if no description has been made at the beginning of the lease, the tenant is presumed, subject to evidence to the contrary, to have received the leased property in the condition it is in at the end of the lease. It is therefore important to check whether a description of the initial situation (a check-in report) was made, otherwise the landlord may not simply offset the deposit.
Moreover, the deposit may not be too high. According to Article 7:261b DCC, it may not exceed twice the basic monthly rent.
No interest is payable on the deposit, but the parties may agree differently.
Is your landlord not paying back the deposit? If so, contact us immediately. We have extensive experience in collecting security deposits for tenants, so we have a streamlined process and can therefore work efficiently for this type of case. We also work on the basis of government-subsidised legal aid (pro bono).
Click here for our special security deposit collection service.
