No, it goes against the principles of our platform. Instead of a deposit, we offer the landlord Rendin protection, which includes a guarantee on rent and utility payments (up to 3 months), property protection (10x one month's rent) and free legal advisory. For the tenant, the deposit is replaced by a monthly Rendin fee of 2.5% of one month's rent.
If the landlord opts for a deposit instead of using Rendin, there's more info to know because the Law of Obligations Act has a set of rules. For example:
- The landlord must keep the deposit in a bank separately from their assets, with at least the local average interest rate, which belongs to the tenant and increases the deposit sum.
- The landlord isn't allowed to use the security deposit, and the corresponding amount must be available in the bank account, considering the possibility of accounting segregation of interest.
- The interest rate is European Central Bank's Main Refinancing Operations Interest Rate on a semi-annual basis before 1 January and 1 July of each year unless otherwise provided by law or agreement.
- If the rental agreement stipulates that no interest is payable on the security deposit, this is an illegal condition, and the statutory regulation still applies.