Rental deposit refund: how tenants get their money back

What is the rental deposit and when do you get it back?

The rental deposit (Mietkaution) is money you hand over at the start of the tenancy as security for the landlord's claims from that tenancy, and it is yours again once those claims are settled. The law names no fixed day for the refund. Courts give the landlord a reasonable period to inspect the flat and check the accounts, in practice up to six months and often less. After that you demand payment in writing with a deadline. If nothing arrives, you apply for a court payment order or sue at the local court. Your claim stays alive for three years.

What does § 551 BGB say about the deposit?

§ 551 BGB sets the rules for the deposit in a residential tenancy. The deposit may not exceed three months' rent without operating costs (§ 551 (1) BGB). You may pay it in three equal monthly instalments, the first one at the start of the tenancy (§ 551 (2) BGB). The landlord must keep it separate from his own money, at the usual interest rate for savings with three months' notice (§ 551 (3) BGB). The interest belongs to you and is added to the deposit. Any agreement that puts you in a worse position is void (§ 551 (4) BGB). If your contract demanded four months' rent, the fourth month was never owed and you can reclaim it during the tenancy.

How long may the landlord keep the deposit?

As long as he needs to check whether he still has claims against you, and not a day longer. The BGB gives no number of weeks. Courts accept a review period of roughly three to six months after you return the keys. For a flat handed back without a single complaint in the handover protocol, a few weeks are enough.

Two deadlines frame this period. Under § 548 (1) BGB the landlord's claims for damage to the flat become time-barred six months after he gets the flat back. In July 2024 the Federal Court of Justice ruled that a landlord may still set off such a damage claim against the deposit after those six months, provided the claim arose before it became time-barred (BGH, VIII ZR 184/23). A late damage claim is therefore not automatically off the table, but the landlord still has to prove the damage and its cost.

The second deadline is the service charge statement. The landlord may hold back a reasonable part of the deposit for an expected back-payment until the statement is issued. Under § 556 (3) BGB he must deliver that statement within twelve months after the end of the billing period; a back-payment he claims later is lost unless the delay is not his fault. He may keep only the part that matches the expected amount, never the whole deposit.

Your own claim to the refund is subject to the regular limitation of three years (§ 195 BGB). It starts at the end of the year in which the claim became due (§ 199 (1) BGB). If your claim became due in 2024, you can enforce it until 31 December 2027.

Which deductions may the landlord make?

Only claims he can name and prove. Valid deductions are unpaid rent, a back-payment from the service charge statement, and damage you caused beyond ordinary use. Wear from normal living, such as faded paint, a worn carpet or a few drill holes, is not damage; § 538 BGB puts it on the landlord.

Cosmetic repairs (Schönheitsreparaturen) cause most disputes. The landlord may only charge you for painting if the tenancy agreement contains a valid clause. A clause is void if the flat was handed to you unrenovated without appropriate compensation (BGH, VIII ZR 185/14), and a clause with rigid deadlines such as "kitchen every three years" is void as well. Without a valid clause you owe nothing for decoration.

The handover protocol decides most cases. If you and the landlord signed a protocol without listed damage, he can hardly justify a damage deduction later. If there is no protocol, dated photos from the day you returned the keys do the same job.

What do you do when the deposit does not arrive?

1. Wait out the review period. Count from the day you returned the keys. For a flat handed back without complaints, you can act after three months.
2. Write to the landlord. Name the deposit amount, the move-out date and your bank details, and set a deadline of two weeks. Send the letter by post, keep a copy, and send the same text by email.
3. Demand an itemised statement for any amount he keeps. He must name each claim with its amount and back it with invoices or estimates. A general "for renovation" is not enough.
4. Check every item: six-month limit for damage, valid cosmetic repair clause, no charge for ordinary wear, service charge retention only in a plausible amount.
5. If the deadline passes, apply for a court payment order (Mahnbescheid) online at mahngerichte.de. If the landlord objects, the case goes to the Amtsgericht for the district where the flat lies (§ 29a ZPO). Residential tenancy disputes belong to the Amtsgericht regardless of the amount (§ 23 No. 2a GVG), and you do not need a lawyer there.
6. If the deductions are hard to judge, a Mieterverein or a Fachanwalt für Mietrecht checks them. A membership or a first consultation costs far less than a lost deposit.

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