Getting your rental deposit back: deadlines, blocked account and deductions

• For flats the landlord may demand at most three months' rent as security (Art. 257e para. 2 CO), according to the prevailing view without service charges.
• The money has to go into a savings account or deposit with a bank in your name (para. 1). The interest is yours.
• A cash deposit handed to the landlord is not permitted. Insist that it is paid into a blocked account.
• The bank only pays out with the consent of both parties, on the basis of a final payment order or a court judgment (para. 3).

As an alternative, insurers offer a deposit guarantee. You pay an annual premium instead of blocking the money. The premium is not refunded, and you remain liable for the landlord's justified claims.

The law sets no deadline for the landlord. If there are no claims after the handover, the landlord has to sign the release without delay. If the deposit is withheld, the claims have to be quantified and substantiated.

After one year it is over: if the landlord has not asserted any claim against you by legal means within one year of the end of the lease, meaning neither debt enforcement nor a lawsuit, you can demand the return directly from the bank (Art. 257e para. 3 CO). The bank then pays out without the landlord's consent.

Only what you actually owe: unpaid rent, an open service charge statement or damage beyond normal wear and tear. Normal wear and tear is covered by the rent, for example light traces of use, faded walls or a reasonable number of drill holes.

For damage, the residual value counts. The joint lifespan table of the tenants' and the homeowners' associations defines how long each element lasts: carpets about 10 years, wall paint 8 to 10 years, parquet sealing 10 years, kitchen appliances around 15 years. Once the lifespan has expired you owe nothing, even if the landlord repaints.

The handover report is decisive. Defects the landlord does not record at the handover and does not report within a few days count as accepted (Art. 267a CO). Sign only what is accurate and photograph every room. Minor repairs up to about 150 to 200 francs that need no professional are at your expense (Art. 259 CO).

1. 1

   Document the handover

   Read the report carefully, take photos, sign nothing that is inaccurate. Note the meter readings.

2. 2

   Demand the release in writing

   By registered mail, with a 14-day deadline. Ask for the signature on the bank's release form or for a transfer.

3. 3

   Check the claims

   If the landlord wants deductions, ask for invoices and quotes and check the age of the items concerned against the lifespan table. Accept only substantiated residual values.

4. 4

   Go to the conciliation authority

   If the landlord does not react or sticks to unsubstantiated deductions, file a request for the release of the deposit. The procedure is free of charge.

5. 5

   After one year, straight to the bank

   Attach the lease, the notice and the handover report and demand payment, provided no debt enforcement or lawsuit is pending.

• Final cleaning: you owe a thorough clean unless the lease says otherwise. A cleaning company is not mandatory as long as the result is right.
• Painting after a short tenancy: only the residual value, and only for damage, not for normal traces.
• Flat-rate deductions without an invoice are not permitted. Every deduction needs a receipt.
• Retention for service charges: only a plausible amount until the final statement is allowed, not the whole deposit.