If you are considering using the amicable proceeding and possibly legal proceedings, it may be useful to explain exactly what this entails.

Amicable proceeding
The amicable settlement proceeding begins with sending one or more demands to the other party requesting payment of the deposit within two weeks, after which extrajudicial collection costs may be charged. In that case, the landlord may decide to pay the amount, make a counterproposal or simply ignore the demand.

Legal proceedings
If  parties cannot reach an agreement in the amicable proceeding, the only option remaining is legal proceedings. Legal proceedings commence with the issuance of a subpoena. The costs of this are approximately € 130 (this is covered by the subsidy if you use government-subsidised legal aid). The subpoena explains, in short, why you are entitled to the deposit and why the landlord refuses to pay it. The subpoena concludes with a demand for payment of the deposit and an order for the landlord to pay the costs of the proceedings. This is because you have to pay court fees if you initiate legal proceedings. The costs of the court fees can be found here. If you win the case, the landlord will be ordered to reimburse you for the court fees and the costs of the subpoena, in addition to the security deposit, of course.

The subpoena also states a date on which the landlord can respond. The landlord can respond in writing or verbally on that date, but it is customary for the landlord to ask the court for a four-week extension to submit a statement of defence, which is a written response. This four-week period can be extended by another four weeks at the landlord’s request, so the landlord has a total of eight weeks to submit the statement of defence. In principle, the court will not grant any further extension.

There are then three options. The first option is that the court decides to give a judgment immediately because the landlord has fully acknowledged the claim, has not responded or the case is so clear that the court does not require any further information (this is almost never the case).

The second option is that the court decides to order another round of written submissions because it needs more information before giving a judgment. You may then respond to the landlord’s statement of defence and the landlord may then respond to your written response. The court will then usually give a judgment.

The third option, and the most common one, is that the court decides after the statement of defence to order an oral hearing. This means that both parties must come to court so that the court can obtain further information or try to reach an amicable settlement. An oral hearing is usually scheduled between two and five months after the last written response. If the parties are unable to reach agreement during the oral hearing and the court has been sufficiently informed, it will deliver a judgment. This judgment is usually delivered six weeks after the date of the oral hearing, but may be extended by a further six weeks if the court is busy (and by a further period in cases of extreme busyness).

You will eventually receive a judgment stating whether you have won or lost. If you have won, the judgment can be enforced by the bailiff and if you have lost, you have three months to appeal. The total time involved in legal proceedings is on average between three and nine months from the date of the summons to the date of receipt of the judgment.

The bailiff
Once the judgment has been obtained, my work is basically done. With the judgment, you can go to any bailiff, who will then have the authority to seize the landlord’s bank account, real estate or movable property (such as cars). A solicitor does not have these options. If you have no experience with bailiffs, I may also be able to assist you with this.