Demand for return of a rental deposit

Published byDocMuse

A tenant's letter to a landlord in Poland who has not returned the deposit after moving out: when the flat was vacated, how much is to be repaid, by when and to which account, with a request for a written account of every deduction. The landlord has a month from the flat being vacated; after that interest runs, and the letter also shows the attempt at an amicable solution a court will ask about.

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Common questions

What can be done when the landlord will not return the deposit?

First send a written demand with a payment deadline, ideally by registered post. If that fails, file a claim for payment; small amounts are heard in simplified proceedings, and a claim can also be filed online in the electronic order-for-payment procedure. The demand is useful in the claim too, which must say whether an amicable solution was attempted.

Is interest due on a deposit returned late?

Yes. Once a month has passed since the flat was vacated, the landlord is late and the tenant may claim statutory interest for delay on the amount that should have been returned (art. 481 of the Civil Code). The tenants' protection act also provides for the deposit to be returned index-linked, never less than was paid, where the rent rose during the tenancy.

What deductions from the deposit are allowed?

Only amounts owed under the tenancy on the day the flat is vacated: unpaid rent, unpaid utilities, the cost of repairing damage the tenant is liable for. Ordinary wear and freshening the flat up for the next tenant cannot be deducted. The landlord should be able to justify every amount deducted — hence the request in the letter for a written account.