Security deposits in France: deadline and deductions
One or two months to return it, justified deductions, wear and tear, the 20% building holdback, the 10% monthly late penalty and disputes: returning a French security deposit.
Kivlo · Updated November 7, 2026 · Sources checked November 7, 2026 · 5 min read
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The tenant hands back the keys: you have one month from the return of the keys to return the security deposit (dépôt de garantie) if the move-out inventory matches the move-in one, and two months if it shows differences. After that, the sum owed grows by 10% of the monthly rent excluding charges for each month of delay started. These rules are set by article 22 of the law of 6 July 1989, which governs residential leases in France.
The return deadline
| Situation at move-out | Maximum deadline |
|---|---|
| Move-out inventory matches the move-in inventory | 1 month |
| Differences between the two inventories | 2 months |
The clock starts when the keys are handed to you or your agent, in person or by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt. The état des lieux (a written, room-by-room record of the property's condition, signed at move-in and move-out) is the only basis for comparison. Without a move-in état des lieux, the tenant is presumed to have received the property in good repair, unless proven otherwise.
Ask for the new address
The law requires the tenant to give you their new address when they hand back the keys. If they do not, the late penalty does not apply. Write it on the move-out inventory.
The maximum deposit
| Lease | Cap |
|---|---|
| Unfurnished let | 1 month's rent excluding charges |
| Furnished let (tenant's main residence) | 2 months' rent excluding charges (article 25-6) |
| Bail mobilité | Forbidden (article 25-17) |
For a bail mobilité, this is not a cap: no deposit may be required at all, and the lease must say so (article 25-13). Likewise, no deposit may be provided for when rent is payable in advance for a period of more than two months (for example, rent paid quarterly in advance); if the tenant then asks to pay monthly, as article 7 allows, you may require one. The deposit earns no interest for the tenant and cannot be revised during the lease. If you sell the property, the new owner returns it.
What you may deduct
You may deduct sums the tenant still owes you, provided you can justify them:
- unpaid rent and charges, including a last month the tenant left unpaid (see can a tenant skip the last month's rent?);
- the cost of damage found at move-out;
- réparations locatives (the minor upkeep repairs that fall to the tenant) left undone.
Service-Public, the French government's information site, lists as evidence the move-in and move-out inventories, photos, a report by a commissaire de justice (court-appointed bailiff), invoices or quotes. Keep them: if the tenant disputes a deduction, it is up to you to prove the damage, by comparing the inventories, and its cost. The tenant is then liable for it unless they prove it came from force majeure, your own fault or a third party they did not let into the home (article 7, c). If the damage costs more than the deposit, see Tenant damage beyond the deposit in France: recovering it.
Damage or wear and tear
Vétusté is "the state of wear or deterioration resulting from time or normal use" of materials and equipment (decree no. 2016-382 of 30 March 2016, article 4). Article 7 of the 1989 law excludes from the tenant's repairs those caused by vétusté. Paint that has faded after eight years is wear; a hole in a wall or a burnt floorboard is damage.
The wear and tear grid
The same decree lets the parties agree, when the lease is signed, to apply a grille de vétusté (wear and tear grid). It is optional. If you use one, it must be chosen among grids that have been the subject of a collective rental agreement, and it sets, at least for the main materials and equipment, a theoretical lifespan and flat annual depreciation rates. Those rates reduce the share of a repair charged to the tenant as the item ages.
Apartment buildings: the 20% holdback
In an immeuble collectif (a building with several dwellings), the year's charges are only known once the building's annual accounts are closed. Article 22 is not limited to copropriété (co-ownership): it covers any property located in an immeuble collectif, so in our reading a multi-dwelling building with a single owner is covered too. Service-Public only presents the rule for co-owned buildings. The landlord draws up provisional accounts and may keep a justified holdback of at most 20% of the deposit until those annual accounts are closed. The final settlement and the balance are due within the month after the accounts are finally approved. For furnished lets, Service-Public mentions it where charges are paid as monthly advances with a yearly adjustment. You and the tenant may also agree to settle earlier.
Example: on a €900 deposit, you may keep at most €180 until the accounts are approved. The rest, less justified deductions, goes back within the one- or two-month deadline.
The late penalty
If the deposit is not returned on time, the deposit still owed is increased by 10% of the monthly rent excluding charges for each month of delay started. The base is the rent, not the deposit. Article 22 ties the increase to the delay alone: it makes it subject to no formal notice. In practice, the tenant usually starts by sending you a mise en demeure (formal notice) to return the deposit, by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, as Service-Public describes.
Worked example. Unfurnished let, rent €800 excluding charges, deposit €800. Keys returned on 10 March 2026, matching inventories: the deposit was due by 10 April 2026. You return it on 25 June 2026.
| Period | Month of delay |
|---|---|
| 10 April → 10 May | 1st month |
| 10 May → 10 June | 2nd month |
| 10 June → 25 June | 3rd month, started |
Penalty: 3 × €80 = €240. You owe €1,040 instead of €800.
A 2018 ruling on the charges adjustment
France's highest civil court overturned a judgment that had applied the penalty to a sum the landlord owed from the charges adjustment, which follows its own deadline (Cass. 3e civ., 31 May 2018, no. 17-18.069). In that case, the tenant's repairs exceeded the deposit.
If you disagree
- Explain the deductions. Send the tenant the itemised deductions with the evidence. Many disputes end there.
- Formal notice. A tenant who disputes them usually writes a mise en demeure (formal demand) by registered letter.
- Amicable attempt. For a dispute under €5,000, Service-Public says one is compulsory before going to court: a conciliateur de justice (free), the commission départementale de conciliation (free) or a mediator (paid).
- The judge. Failing agreement, the juge des contentieux de la protection of the court where the property is located can be seized. Service-Public gives three years from the date the deposit should have been returned.
The commission départementale de conciliation has equal numbers of landlord and tenant representatives. Either the landlord or the tenant can bring a deposit or inventory dispute before it. It gives an opinion within two months; if the parties agree, it draws up a conciliation document.
Summary
| Question | Rule |
|---|---|
| Maximum | 1 month excl. charges (unfurnished), 2 months (furnished), forbidden (bail mobilité, or rent payable more than two months in advance) |
| Deadline, matching inventories | 1 month after keys are returned |
| Deadline, differences | 2 months after keys are returned |
| Deductions | Sums owed and damage, with evidence; never wear and tear |
| Apartment building (co-owned or not, as we read it) | Justified holdback of at most 20%, balance within the month after accounts approval |
| Late return | +10% of monthly rent excl. charges per month started |
End-of-lease checklist
- Carry out the move-out état des lieux with the tenant and compare it with the move-in one (if the tenant does not come, see tenant left without a move-out inventory).
- Note the date the keys came back and the tenant's new address.
- Photograph each item of damage; get quotes or keep the invoices.
- Set aside what is normal wear, or apply the grille de vétusté in the lease.
- In an apartment building (co-owned or not, as we read it), draw up provisional accounts, work out the holdback (20% at most) and note when the building's annual accounts will be approved.
- Return the balance before the deadline, with a written breakdown of the deductions.
Have your own case checked
Every end of lease has its own dates, evidence and amounts. Before a large deduction or in a dispute, have your situation checked by a French lawyer or by the local ADIL (Agence départementale d'information sur le logement), which gives free housing advice.
Sources
- Article 22 of law no. 89-462 of 6 July 1989 (Légifrance, in French)
- Security deposit in a residential lease, Service-Public (in French)
- Decree no. 2016-382 of 30 March 2016 on inventories and wear and tear (Légifrance, in French)
- Article 20 of the 1989 law, departmental conciliation board (Légifrance, in French)
- Cass. 3e civ., 31 May 2018, no. 17-18.069 (Légifrance, in French)
- ANIL and the ADIL network, free housing advice (in French)
Last checked on 7 November 2026
Don't let the deadline slip
From the Pro plan, you carry out the move-out inventory in the Kivlo mobile app, room by room, with photos and signatures on the spot. Once it is signed, Kivlo reminds you of the deposit to return, with a due date based on the shorter one-month deadline.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a French landlord have to return the deposit?
One month from the return of the keys if the move-out inventory matches the move-in one, two months if it shows differences. Sums the tenant still owes may be deducted, with supporting evidence.
What happens if the deposit is returned late?
The deposit still owed is increased by 10% of the monthly rent excluding charges for each month of delay started. The penalty does not apply if the delay comes from the tenant not giving a new address when handing back the keys.
Can a landlord take a deposit on a bail mobilité?
No. French law forbids the landlord from requiring a deposit on a bail mobilité (a short furnished lease of one to ten months), and the lease must say so.
Does the tenant pay for normal wear and tear?
No. Repairs caused by vétusté, meaning wear from time or normal use, are not the tenant's to pay. Only damage and unperformed minor tenant repairs may be deducted, with evidence.
How much can be held back in an apartment building pending the charges settlement?
If the property is in a building with several dwellings (immeuble collectif), co-owned or not as we read it, a justified holdback of at most 20% of the deposit, until the building's annual accounts are closed. The balance is due within the month after the accounts are finally approved.
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Updated November 7, 2026 · Sources checked November 7, 2026 · 5 min read