Are you thinking of cancelling your rental agreement and have paid a deposit? If you have fulfilled all your obligations, your landlord must return the rental guarantee.

We explain the procedure for get your deposit back.

What is the rental guarantee?

The rental guarantee, more commonly known as a deposit, is used to protect the owner in the event of damage caused to the property by the tenant or in the event of unpaid charges and rent. It cannot exceed 3 months' rent. In general, the sum is paid into a bank account dedicated exclusively to this purpose. The State may also act as guarantor under certain conditions. More rarely, the rental guarantee is paid directly to the landlord in cash or by bank transfer.

The steps involved in returning the rental guarantee

You can ask for your deposit back after you have completed the inventory of fixtures and returned your keys. In the case of a flat with rental charges, the tenant must wait for the annual statement of charges before recovering the amount paid as a guarantee to the landlord.

Although there is no legal deadline for repaying the guarantee, the tenant can still demand that the landlord pay the guarantee whenever he or she wishes. To do this, he must make his request by writing a letter of formal notice. If there is no response from the landlord, legal action may be considered. In any case, you will have to wait for the annual statement of charges.

Payment of interest in the case of a bank guarantee

A rental guarantee paid into a bank account earns interest. There are two types of bank guarantees:

• Bank guarantee on first demand The amount of the guarantee is blocked in a bank account for a slightly longer period than the lease and can be retrieved at any time by the landlord without having to provide a reason.
• The simple bank guarantee The amount of the rental guarantee is paid into an account in the name of the tenant for a period equivalent to the duration of the lease + some months. The landlord has a duty to provide reasons for a deduction: a judgment in his favour or a letter written and signed by the tenant stating his claim against his landlord.

Interest is payable to the account holder: the tenant in the case of a special account dedicated to the rental guarantee, or the landlord's account if the lease contract mentioned a guarantee payable on his account.

To find out more about the rights and duties of a tenant in Luxembourg, see this article.