Getting your deposit back
Moving out? Your landlord must return your deposit within 14 days, may only keep money back for four reasons, and has to show the receipts. Here is what the law says, what to send, and what it costs if they still don't pay.
How much deposit is allowed
For contracts signed from 1 July 2023, the deposit may be at most 2 months of basic rent (kale huur, the rent without service costs). Contracts signed before that date may carry up to 3 months.
Paid more than the law allows? You can ask the court to lower it and the landlord must repay the difference. You can also report it to your municipality, which can fine the landlord.
When you get it back
The landlord must repay the deposit within 14 days after your tenancy ends.
If the landlord deducts something, you must get the rest within 30 days, together with a written, itemised statement of what was kept and why. "Cleaning and repairs, €400" without receipts is not a statement.
The landlord owes no interest on the deposit while you rent. Statutory interest does start running once the deadline has passed and you have demanded payment.
What the landlord may deduct
Only four things:
- rent you haven't paid;
- service costs you haven't paid;
- damage you caused, beyond normal wear and tear;
- the energy performance fee (energieprestatievergoeding), if your contract includes one.
Anything else is not allowed: administration fees, a "final cleaning" you never agreed to, repainting walls that were simply lived in, replacing a 10-year-old carpet at new price. Normal wear and tear is the landlord's cost, not yours.
Before you hand over the keys
- Take dated photos or a video of every room, every wall, the floor, the oven, the shower. Thirty minutes of your time, and it decides most deposit disputes.
- Ask for a joint final inspection and a signed check-out report (opleveringsrapport). If the landlord skips it, note that in an email the same day.
- Send your new bank details and new address in writing. "I didn't know where to send it" is a common excuse.
- Keep your move-in report and photos. Damage that was already there when you arrived is not yours.
Day 15: the letter
Nothing arrived? Send this by email and, if you have a postal address, by registered post. Fill in the brackets. Dutch landlords know exactly what this letter means.
| Subject | Return of deposit, [address of the rented home] |
| Body | Dear [landlord name], My tenancy of [address] ended on [date]. I paid a deposit of €[amount] on [date]. Under article 7:261b of the Dutch Civil Code you had to return it within 14 days of the end of the tenancy. That deadline has passed and I have received nothing, nor an itemised statement. Please transfer €[amount] to [IBAN], in the name of [your name], within 14 days of today, so by [date]. If I do not receive the full amount by then, I will claim it through the cantonal court (kantonrechter), including statutory interest and the court costs, and report this to the municipal landlord complaints desk (meldpunt goed verhuurderschap). Kind regards, [your name] [new address] [phone] |
Received a statement with deductions you don't accept? Same letter, with one extra sentence: "I dispute the deduction of €[amount] for [item], because [it was already damaged at move-in / it is normal wear and tear / you have not shown receipts]."
If they still don't pay: the court
Deposits don't go to the Huurcommissie. The route is the cantonal court (kantonrechter), the Dutch small-claims judge. The parts people worry about:
| Do I need a lawyer? | No. For claims up to €25,000 you can file and appear yourself. |
|---|---|
| What does it cost? | A court fee of €93 for a claim up to €500, €233 up to €1,500, €265 up to €12,500 (2026 rates for private persons). If you win, the landlord is ordered to pay this back to you. |
| How long? | Most deposit cases end in a few months. Many landlords pay as soon as they receive the summons. |
| Is it in Dutch? | Yes. The summons, the hearing and the ruling are in Dutch. This is the part internationals get stuck on. |
Alongside the court, you can report the landlord to your municipality's meldpunt goed verhuurderschap. The municipality can fine the landlord for breaking the deposit rules. It does not get your money back, but a landlord with several properties cares about it.
Or let us do it
We send the letter, and if needed run the court claim, in Dutch, on your behalf. No win, no fee. Message us on WhatsApp with your move-out date and the amount, and we tell you within a day whether the claim is worth running.
Sources: Rijksoverheid, "Mag mijn verhuurder een waarborgsom vragen?" (rijksoverheid.nl); Burgerlijk Wetboek art. 7:261b; court fees 2026, rechtspraak.nl, griffierecht kanton.
Also check your rent. Most internationals pay more than the legal maximum.
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