Landlords can legally ask for up to three months' rent as a deposit. Here's how that's supposed to work, and the most common reasons students lose part of theirs.
This page is for information purposes only. It is not legal, immigration, tax or financial advice, and StudentHubs does not give individual advice. Rules and processes vary by city and by personal situation, and they change over time. Before you act on anything that affects your residence permit, insurance, money or deadlines, confirm it with the responsible office, for example your Ausländerbehörde, Bürgeramt, Krankenkasse or BAföG office. Translations are AI-generated, and AI can make mistakes in translation. Please be aware of this, and if a detail is unclear or important to you, check it with the responsible office.
A Kaution (security deposit) is capped by law at three months' cold rent — the base rent before utilities (Nebenkosten) are added. Anything above that in a contract is not legally enforceable, so it's worth checking your Mietvertrag's deposit clause against your actual Kaltmiete before signing.
You also have the legal right to split the deposit into three equal monthly instalments, paid alongside your first three months' rent, rather than one lump sum up front — a right many landlords won't mention unless you ask, so ask if a lump-sum deposit would be a stretch.
A responsible landlord holds your deposit in a Mietkautionskonto — an account kept separate from their own finances, usually earning a small amount of interest that belongs to you. This matters because it protects your money if the landlord has financial trouble; a deposit mixed into a landlord's personal account offers you no such protection.
It's reasonable to ask which account your deposit is held in before or shortly after paying it — a landlord with nothing to hide won't mind the question.
There's no single fixed legal deadline, but German courts generally treat about 6 months after move-out as a reasonable upper limit for a landlord to finish settling accounts (final utility bills included) and return what's left of the deposit. A landlord can reasonably hold back a portion if a final Nebenkostenabrechnung (utility settlement) is still pending.
Normal wear and tear from ordinary living — minor scuffs, faded paint, worn carpet — legally cannot be deducted from your deposit; genuine damage beyond that can be, but only if the landlord can actually document it.
A written, signed Übergabeprotokoll (handover report) at both move-in and move-out — ideally with dated photos — is your main protection against unfair deductions. It records the flat's actual condition at each point, so a dispute later comes down to documented facts rather than memory or assumption.
If a deduction seems unreasonable and you can't resolve it directly with the landlord, your local Mieterbund (tenants' association) or a Schlichtungsstelle (mediation body) can help — membership is inexpensive and often worth it for exactly this kind of situation.