Prepare before you hand over the keys
Find the contract, the deposit receipt and the accommodation protocol. Compare the apartment with the baseline. Separately write down damage, old defects and repairs. Agree on the joint handover in advance, so that the dispute does not start with the question of which day the apartment was vacated.
Take photos in the same order as when you settled in: rooms, furniture, appliances, sanitary equipment and meters. Add a general view of the large defect to the image to show the location. Do not rely on a photo of a whole room, on which you can not distinguish the state of a particular thing.
Make a report of the exit
Specify the date, the condition of the apartment, the meter readings and the handover of keys. Record which comments the parties accept and which remain controversial. Do not sign "no claims on settlements" if the deposit has not yet been returned and the deductions have not been named.
Send the landlord an invoice for the return and ask for an invoice: deposit paid, each deduction, ground and balance. If the final utility bill appears later, agree in writing what part and why remains disputed. The phrase "all the deposit for now I will leave" without explanation does not replace the calculation.
What time limit is set
The Law on the Protection of Tenants ' Rights provides for the return of the deposit within one month of the evacuation of the dwelling after the deductions provided for. There are separate provisions for regular and special types of rentals; the rules of calculation and permissible deductions should be related to your contract. A month is not equal to a promise of when we'll find the next tenant.
In the case of ordinary lease, the law also provides for the mechanism of valuing kaucja. If the amount differs from the original deposit or the dispute concerns a special contract, read the relevant section of the law and attach the calculation to the consultation. Do not deduct the deposit from the last month yourself: the rental obligation and the return claim can be considered separately.
What to write in case of disputed retention
- Amount of security deposit, date of deposit and proof of payment.
- The date of evacuation of the apartment and reference to the protocol.
- Which deductions you are challenging and why: for example, the defect was already at the time of settlement.
- Please provide invoices or other proof of the claimed costs.
- The amount to be refunded, the bank account and the selected term of the claim.
If there is no money even after the demand
Save the delivery call for payment. For further civil dispute will be useful contract, both protocols, photographs, correspondence and settlement. If the apartment was rented by a private person, do not expect that the consumer ombudsman necessarily leads any dispute: his competence is related to consumer relations.
For an independent assessment, the free legal aid system can be consulted by checking the conditions of access. Show the documents and state the amount in dispute. It is easier for a lawyer to suggest the next step on a specific withholding than on a general story of “the owner does not want to pay”. Do not publish other people's documents and bank details in social networks instead of a probative appeal.