Depositback.nl | Pelswijk Advocatuur
Are you a(n) expat? student? migrant?
And has your landlord wrongfully withheld your deposit? Then read on!
Is your landlord refusing to refund your deposit?
You have probably landed on this page because you are in the unfortunate situation where your landlord refuses to refund (part of) your deposit after the end of the tenancy agreement. And because the deposit is equal to one and sometimes up to three times the monthly rent you have paid, it is a nice bonus for the landlord.
Whether you are an expat, student or regular tenant, unfortunately, this kind of practice is common in the Netherlands. Landlords often claim that you did not leave the rental property clean, that there are defects in the rental property, that certain items are missing or that you have damaged the walls or floors. According to the landlord, the repair costs are often equal to or significantly higher than the deposit you paid at the start of the tenancy agreement. Usually, there is no damage or defects at all, but normal wear and tear on the property, for which you, as a tenant, are not liable.
Landlords speculate that you, as the tenant, will ultimately decide not to pursue the matter. Especially if you are an expat and have since moved to another country, you often do not want to invest the time and energy to get your deposit back.
But the main reason tenants let it go is because it simply isn’t worth making a case out of it. A solicitor costs an average of € 200 per hour excluding VAT and will spend at least 10 hours studying the documents, drafting the subpoena and ultimately conducting legal proceedings. In the best-case scenario, you will have spent € 2,420 on your lawyer, while in some cases the deposit is not even € 2,000. In the best-case scenario, you will have won the case, but it will still have cost you more. And no, in the Netherlands, it does not work like it does in the United States, where the losing party has to pay the winning party’s legal fees. Landlords are aware of this, which means that in most cases they get away with it.
That’s why you’ve come to the right place! I can represent you in court on the basis of government-subsidised legal aid or on the basis of a unique, special all-inclusive rate. See the prices for more information.
You can send me an email, call me on my mobile or send me a message via WhatsApp.
Team Pelswijk Advocatuur is here for you!
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The prices
I can assist you in two ways.
Subsidised legal aid
Are you eligible for government-subsidised legal aid? You can find the answer to that question in the table below. You need to look at your gross income from two years ago, i.e. 2024, because that has already been definitively determined by the tax authorities. In short, your income two years ago must not have exceeded € 35,400 gross per annum if you were single. If you are currently in a relationship, your joint income in 2024 must not have exceeded € 50,000. For more information about subsidised legal aid, please consult the website of the Legal Aid Board.
Example: You earned € 22,500 in 2024. Then your personal contribution would be € 188. If you as a couple earned € 36,000 in 2024 then your personal contribution would be € 406.
| Single | Personal contribution | Married, cohabiting or single parent |
|---|---|---|
| t/m € 25,200 | € 188 | t/m € 35,000 |
| € 25,201 - € 25,900 | € 406 | € 35,001 - € 36,200 |
| € 25,901 - € 27,500 | € 609 | € 36,201 - € 37,900 |
| € 27,501 - € 29,800 | € 813 | € 37,901 - € 42,400 |
| € 29,801 - € 35,400 | € 1,015 | € 42,401 - € 50,000 |
| Above € 35,400 | Applicant is not eligible for an addition | Above € 50,000 |
All-inclusive rate
You can also use my service by means of the all-inclusive rate. This rate consists of a one-off price for as long as no legal proceedings are initiated, the so-called amicable proceeding. If legal proceedings are necessary, an additional price will be charged. The prices depend on the amount of the deposit. All prices are inclusive of VAT.
Example: Suppose you have paid a deposit of €2,000. In that case, I can start working for you for €500. With a bit of luck, the landlord will refund the full (or part of the) deposit after a few messages from me. If this is not the case, for example because the landlord does not respond to my demands, you can then decide to initiate legal proceedings. In that case, you will have to pay another € 500 for the entire legal proceedings.
| Deposit | Settlement | Legal proceedings | Total costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| < € 1.500 | € 500 | € 250 | € 750 |
| € 1.501 - € 2.500 | € 500 | € 500 | € 1.000 |
| € 2.501 - € 4.000 | € 750 | € 500 | € 1.250 |
| € 4.001 - € 6.000 | € 750 | € 1.000 | € 1.750 |
| € 6.001 - € 8.000 | € 1.000 | € 2.000 | € 3.000 |
| € 8.001 - € 10.000 | € 1.250 | € 2.250 | € 3.500 |
About me
My name is Lorenzo M.J. Pelswijk and I have been a solicitor since 2012. A few years ago, I started my own firm called Pelswijk Advocatuur. I work together with Arslan & Arslan Advocaten in Amsterdam and specialise in tenancy law. Over the years, I have handled many cases involving expats. This has led me to discover that many expats, students, migrant workers and other tenants are not getting their security deposits back, even though in most cases there was nothing wrong and the wear and tear on the property was normal.
To put a stop to this practice, I started this website so that tenants have a way to get their security deposits back.
What do satisfied customers say?
Blogs
Knowledge base
Here you can read interesting judgements about rental deposits. The knowledge base is regularly updated with relevant judgements.
Frequently Asked Questions
When must the landlord repay the deposit at the latest?
According to Article 7:261b of the Dutch Civil Code, the landlord must do this within two weeks of the end of the tenancy agreement. Keep in mind that if there’s damage to the property, the landlord can keep the deposit for up to 30 days after settling any costs they can show were needed to fix the damage.
What is the maximum deposit amount?
According to Article 7:261b, the deposit may not exceed twice the rent. Rent refers to the so-called basic rent, i.e. excluding service charges.
What is normal wear and tear?
According to Article 7:261b, the deposit may not exceed twice the rent. Rent refers to the so-called basic rent, i.e. excluding service charges.
I did not sign a check-in report at the start of the rental agreement. Is that okay?
In any case, it is not to your disadvantage if your landlord claims that there is damage to the property at the end of the tenancy agreement but there is no check-in report. After all, according to Article 7:224(2) of the Dutch Civil Code, the tenant is presumed, unless proven otherwise, to have received the rented property in the condition it was in at the end of the tenancy agreement. This includes any damage. Of course, the landlord may prove that the damage was not present at the start of the tenancy agreement.
The landlord still wants to deduct damages from the security deposit after the check-out report has been signed. Is that allowed?
It follows from established case law that if no defects are noted during the final inspection, the condition of the rented property is deemed to have been accepted. The basic principle is that a tenant can only be held reasonably liable for the repair of the defects listed in the check-out report. In principle, defects that the landlord brings up after the final inspection do not have to be taken into account (except in the case of hidden defects).
The landlord does not want to refund my deposit. Do I still have to return the key?
Even if the landlord is wrongfully withholding the deposit, it is still advisable to return the key at the end of the tenancy agreement. If you do not do so, a court could rule that you have not vacated the property because you still have the key. You could even be obliged to pay the rent or a usage fee for the period during which you did not return the keys.
I already cleaned the property when I handed it over, but now the landlord is charging me cleaning costs. Is that allowed?
A property does not have to be spotlessly clean when it is handed over; it is sufficient if it is swept clean.
Only a final inspection has been carried out, but no preliminary inspection. What should I do now?
The purpose of a preliminary inspection is to give tenants the opportunity to repair any defects in the property themselves. If tenants have not had the opportunity to repair any defects themselves before the end of the tenancy, the landlord may only charge repair costs for those defects or offset them against the deposit, provided that it should have been clear to the tenants without a prior inspection that they were required to remedy and/or repair these defects upon delivery.
