The landlord must repay your deposit within fourteen days of the end of the tenancy agreement. Only if there are rent arrears or damage for which you are liable may he set off amounts — and then a period of thirty days applies, with written notification and a full itemised statement of costs. If that notification is not given, the deduction has no legal basis.
Want to work it out yourself? With the deposit check you can see in one minute your maximum deposit and the latest date for repayment, with a sample letter included.
Challenge a deposit deduction or ask us to recover it
This guide explains the evidence for disputing deductions. If you want legal assistance, see our rental deposit recovery service in the Netherlands. We offer a free first consultation and assess legal aid eligibility. Without legal aid, fixed deposit recovery fees start at €500 including VAT, with an additional fee for court proceedings. We can also assess no cure no pay terms for suitable straightforward collection claims.
What you can do now
- Look up your tenancy agreement and check what amount was paid as a deposit and when the tenancy ended.
- Gather evidence of the condition of the home: the inspection report at the start, the final report, and your own photos of the handover.
- Ask the landlord in writing for the itemised statement of costs if you have not received it.
- Send a registered letter reclaiming the full amount and setting a deadline of fourteen days.
- If the landlord does not respond or withholds amounts without substantiation, have the case assessed before you agree to anything.
By topic, you can read more about a dispute about cleaning or painting costs, about who has to repay the deposit when landlord and letting agent point at each other, and about assessing a settlement proposal on the deposit after a partial repayment. If you are dealing with a deposit paid in cash without a receipt or a housemate who left a joint tenancy agreement, you can read there what your position is regarding evidence.
Within what period must the deposit be repaid?
Within fourteen days of the end of the tenancy agreement, unless the landlord has something to set off. This is laid down in article 7:261b(3) of the Civil Code. If there is damage for which you are liable, or if you have not paid rent, service charges or an energy performance fee, he may repay the balance within thirty days. Those thirty days therefore only apply to the part that remains after set-off — not as a general extra month.
What may the landlord withhold?
Only demonstrably incurred repair costs for damage for which you are liable, and amounts that you genuinely still owe. Normal wear and tear is not included. On handover you do not have to return the property in new condition: anything worn or damaged through age is disregarded (article 7:224(2) of the Civil Code). Discoloured wallpaper, worn vinyl flooring or small holes from paintings are use, not damage.
Does the landlord have to substantiate the deduction?
Yes. He must notify you in writing of the set-off and provide a full itemised statement of costs (article 7:261b(4) of the Civil Code). A text message saying "it still needed cleaning" is not a statement of costs. In a case before the Noord-Holland District Court, the subdistrict court judge expressly described written notification and the full itemised statement of costs as a condition for the set-off (ECLI:NL:RBNHO:2024:12463).
How high may the deposit actually be?
For agreements concluded on or after 1 July 2023, no more than twice the basic rent. That maximum is laid down in article 7:261b(2) of the Civil Code and was introduced by the Good Landlordship Act (Wet goed verhuurderschap), which entered into force on 1 July 2023. It therefore does not come from the Affordable Rent Act (Wet betaalbare huur) of 2024, with which it is often confused. It concerns the basic rent: service charges and any energy performance fee do not count.
Why is the initial condition so important?
Because the description made at the start determines the standard against which your handover is measured. If a description was drawn up, you must return the home in that condition, less permitted alterations and less anything worn through age. If there is no description, you are presumed, unless proven otherwise, to have received the home in the condition it is in at the end of the tenancy (article 7:224(2) of the Civil Code). That presumption works in your favour: the landlord then has to prove that things were different. How to use this in a specific final settlement is explained in deposit withheld without an initial inspection or handover report.
By way of illustration. A tenant hands back an apartment after three years. No inspection report was made at the start. The landlord withholds the entire deposit for painting the walls and replacing the floor covering. The tenant has photos from the day of departure; the landlord has nothing from the day of arrival. The question is then not what it now costs to refurbish the home, but whether the landlord can prove that its condition deteriorated because of something attributable to the tenant. This is an example situation illustrating the rule, not a case handled by our firm.
And what if the landlord simply does not respond?
Then you claim the amount before the subdistrict court. Tenancy cases are heard by the subdistrict court, where you are not required to have a lawyer but do need to be well prepared. A registered notice of default with a clear deadline is the first step. A letter from a lawyer is often enough, because the landlord then sees that his substantiation will not stand up to scrutiny.
When things go wrong
- You sign the final inspection report as agreed even though it contains items you dispute. Do not sign it without comment: note what you disagree with, or sign only for receipt.
- You let it lie for months. Evidence disappears: the home is let again, photos get lost and the landlord refers to repairs that no one can check any more.
- You accept a partial payment just to be done with it. That may turn out to be a settlement agreement by which you are bound later, including for the part you were actually still owed.
More background on tenancy law, from rent to eviction, can be found on our page on tenancy law.
Have your deposit deduction assessed
Send your tenancy agreement, proof of payment, final statement and relevant messages. State what amount is being withheld and why you disagree. We will discuss which approach suits your case and what costs are involved.
- We check whether the deduction is substantiated with a full itemised statement of costs.
- We assess the initial and final condition, the alleged damage and the period of 14 or 30 days.
- We determine who has to repay your deposit and which next step makes sense.
Call 070 450 0300Have your deposit deduction assessed
The first conversation is free of charge and confidential. Six offices in the Netherlands. We also speak Turkish, Polish and English.
Present your situation
Call 070 450 0300 or send your documents via arslan.nl/contact. The first consultation is free of charge and confidential. We have six offices and can also help you in Turkish, Polish and English.
Tenancy law in your city. The deposit rules are national; your local page provides the relevant office and contact details. Read the local explanation and the direct telephone number: Tenancy lawyer Amsterdam · Tenancy lawyer Tilburg · Tenancy lawyer Eindhoven. The full overview can be found on our page on tenancy law.