Rental Deposit Deduction Check - Netherlands

The three rules that decide most deposit disputes

Deposit arguments feel like they turn on whether a scuff on the wall counts as damage. In practice they almost never do. They turn on three structural points, and each of them tends to favour the tenant.

1. The deposit is capped at two months’ rent

The Wet goed verhuurderschap, in force since 1 July 2023, caps a deposit at two months’ bare rent - kale huur, excluding service charges. Three-month deposits were routine before that and some landlords are still asking for them. If you paid more than the ceiling, that is a breach standing entirely on its own, before anyone discusses the state of the carpet.

2. There is a hard repayment deadline

The same act requires the deposit to be returned within 14 days of the end of the tenancy. Where the landlord deducts, they get 30 days - but only if they specify the deductions in writing. A landlord who has gone quiet past those dates is in default, and saying so explicitly in a written demand changes the tone of the conversation immediately.

3. Without a move-in report, the burden is theirs

This is the one most tenants do not know. Under article 7:224 of the Civil Code, where no description of the property was drawn up when the tenancy started, you are presumed to have received the property in the condition it was in when you left it. The landlord must then prove that any given defect was caused by you.

Normal wear and tear is never deductible

Deterioration from ordinary living is the landlord’s cost. That includes faded or marked paint, worn carpet and flooring, small nail holes from pictures, ageing seals and fittings, and general dulling of surfaces. None of it can be charged to you, whatever the invoice from the landlord’s contractor says.

The line is between use and misuse. A worn carpet is wear. A burn in the carpet is damage. Marked walls after three years is wear. A hole punched in the plasterboard is damage.

Deductions that rarely survive scrutiny

• Administration or contract fees. No basis in law. These are among the easiest deductions to reverse.
• Routine redecoration. Repainting between tenancies is maintenance the landlord would have done anyway. It is different if you painted the walls an unusual colour and the contract required you to restore them.
• Standard professional cleaning. Chargeable only where you left the property dirtier than you received it - which requires a baseline the landlord usually cannot produce.
• Round-number damage claims. A deduction of exactly the deposit amount, or a suspiciously round figure with no invoice behind it, tends not to withstand a request for the underlying quotes.

What a strong file looks like

If you are preparing to challenge a deduction, the documents that matter are: the tenancy agreement including any annexe about the deposit, the move-in report if one exists, dated photographs or video from both the start and the end of the tenancy, the final meter readings, every message with the landlord or agency about the deposit, and proof of what you originally paid.

The FindLawyer.nl guides on normal wear and tear and unlawful deductions go through the individual categories in more detail.