Four main reasons landlords do not pay back your deposit

When it comes to moving out, most tenants wanttheir money returned as soon as possible. In most scenarios, you will berelocating to a new place and will be required to pay a security deposit.

Many tenants wind up blocking two rentdeposits: one for the old rental house and one for your current rental. Thismay be a substantial sum of money. Often, renters may wait several months toget their security deposit from the former landlord.

Importantnote: There is no legal requirement that the landlordreturns your money at a certain time. After you've moved out, your landlordmust evaluate if they may recover any legitimate claims against you from yourdeposit within a fair time limit. A six-month time frame is seen to beacceptable for most situations.

Forexample, you want to move on July 1st, 2022. Thus yourrental arrangement ends on April 1st, 2022. Your monthly cold rent is 700euros. You paid a cash deposit of 2100 euros when you moved in. Your depositshould be returned by January 1st, 2023, at the latest.

Garentiieliminates the need to pay a costly cash deposit and eliminates the need toworry about receiving your money returned!

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Four Reasons Your Landlord Won't Give Back The Deposit

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Reason 1: The tenant did not return the apartment in thecontractually agreed condition.

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Cosmetic Repairs

Most rental agreements specify how the rentermust return the property. For example, the landlord may demand the renter torepaint the unit before totally giving it over.

If the so-called cosmetic repair provision isin effect, the tenant is required to complete the remodeling work stated in therental agreement. If the renter fails to meet his commitments, the landlord mayutilize the deposit to make cosmetic repairs.

Conversions and Fixtures

The same is true for any conversion work doneby the renter on his own in the flat. In the event of conversions andinstallations, the tenant is required to remove them before actually moving outto return the property to its original state.

Before converting the flat or making costlyinstallations, you need to get authorization from your landlord for theconstruction works. A pre-agreement may also be formed that the measures do nothave to be removed after moving out but are instead taken over by the landlord.

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Damages

Living in an apartment for years will leave amark, which is expected. Normal indications of wear and tear, such as littlescratching on the hardwood floor, are nothing to be concerned about when youmove out.

However, if you've been walking around theflat in high-heeled shoes every day and have left several big holes in theparquet, it's a different story. You will have to pay for such damages. If youleave without compensating the landlord, the landlord may take all or some ofyour deposit for restorations.

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Clearance costs

Some tenants not only cause damage but alsoend up leaving possessions and garbage behind. If the landlord has to empty theunit before leasing it out again, he may deduct the fees from the priortenant's deposit.

Pro-tip:always do a handover protocol!

It is advised that renters never move outwithout a handover process to guarantee that the landlord's claims do notarrive too late after moving out and are wholly unexpected.

The handover process protects both renters andlandlords. The apartment handover procedure documents the state of the flat onthe day the keys are handed over. If the landlord does not state any demands inthe handover procedure, they cannot bring any further claims against the formertenant. The agreement, however, is also enforceable on renters.

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Reason 2: The Tenant Did NotReturn The Apartment On Time

When returning the flat, not only is thecondition vital but so is the deadline. If you do not leave on time, thelandlord may impose fees. For example, suppose a new tenant is unable to movein on time, and the landlord is forced to pay damages. He may deduct his costsfrom your deposit.

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Reason 3: The Tenant Owes Rent

If you still owe rent after you've moved out,your landlord may take your deposit to pay it off. Contrary to commonassumption, the security deposit does not waive the need to pay more rentduring the final months of the lease. The deposit cannot be "usedoff," and tenants must make rental payments on time before the contract'sconclusion.

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Reason 4: The Utility Bill IsStill Pending

While the concerns discussed so far have beenexamples of why the landlord has not yet returned the deposit within sixmonths, there is another explanation for why the reimbursement is more thanhalf a year late.

This might be due to an unpaid utility bill.If you leave in the springtime, but the billing cycle for utility bills doesn'tfinish until December, they will have to wait for their security deposit forseveral months. The landlord has additional 12 months after the billing periodends to produce the utility bill and transmit it to the renter.

Don't want to be worried about landlordsreturning your cash deposit? Learn more about the Garentii deposit-free alternative.

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