Kaution and utility bill: how much deposit can your landlord keep?

You have moved out, handed back the keys, and your deposit has not come back yet. Often the reason is the last utility bill, which can arrive many months later. Here is how much your landlord may keep, for how long, and what you can do.

By Phil Holthaus & Johann Slawski, founders of nebify — Nebenkostenabrechnungen checked by people and software.

Last updated October 16, 2026

Key facts at a glance

There is no fixed deadline for returning the deposit. Your landlord gets a reasonable time to check.
For the last Nebenkostenabrechnung, your landlord may hold back only a reasonable part, not the whole deposit.
That part may be kept until the last statement is due: 12 months after the end of the billing period.
The deposit may be at most three months' rent without service charges, with interest.
Back payments that are already time-barred may not be taken from the deposit.

Handing over apartment keys in an empty flat

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Short answer

Because of the last utility bill, your landlord may only hold back a reasonable part of your deposit, and only until the statement for your last year is due. The rest has to be paid out as soon as there are no other claims. What is “reasonable” depends on the back payment that can realistically be expected, for example judging by your previous statements.

How much your landlord may keep

The last Nebenkostenabrechnung for the year you moved out usually arrives long after you have left. The Federal Court of Justice allows the landlord to hold back part of the deposit until then, but only if a back payment is to be expected, and only an amount that fits it (judgment of 18 January 2006, VIII ZR 71/05).

What is reasonable
An amount based on your earlier statements. If you got refunds in previous years, there is little reason to hold back much.
What is not
Keeping the whole deposit for months only because a statement is still open.
Everything else
The rest must be paid out as soon as the landlord has checked the flat and has no other claims.

→ Deposit calculator with interest and deductions (German)

How long it can take

The statement for your last year must reach you within 12 months after the end of the billing period, even though you have moved out. Until then, the part held back may stay with the landlord:

„Die Abrechnung ist dem Mieter spätestens bis zum Ablauf des zwölften Monats nach Ende des Abrechnungszeitraums mitzuteilen.“

In English: “The statement must be sent to the tenant no later than the end of the twelfth month after the end of the billing period.”

§ 556 (3) sentence 2 BGB — our translation; only the German text is binding

Example: you moved out in March 2026 and the billing year is the calendar year. The statement for 2026 is due by 31 December 2027. If it does not come by then, the landlord can no longer demand a back payment and must return the rest of your deposit.

What to do when you move out

1
Read the meters
Note or photograph all meter readings at the handover and get them into the handover record.
2
Give your new address
Your landlord needs it to send the last statement. Without it, delays are likely.
3
Ask for the deposit statement
Ask in writing how much is held back for the utility bill and why that amount.
4
Check the last statement
When it arrives, check it like any other. You have 12 months to object.

Deposit basics: amount, instalments, interest

„Hat der Mieter dem Vermieter für die Erfüllung seiner Pflichten Sicherheit zu leisten, so darf diese vorbehaltlich des Absatzes 3 Satz 4 höchstens das Dreifache der auf einen Monat entfallenden Miete ohne die als Pauschale oder als Vorauszahlung ausgewiesenen Betriebskosten betragen.“

In English: “If the tenant has to provide security to the landlord, it may, subject to subsection 3 sentence 4, be at most three times the monthly rent without the service charges shown as a flat rate or advance payment.”

§ 551 (1) BGB — our translation; only the German text is binding

You may pay the deposit in three equal monthly instalments, the first at the start of the tenancy. Your landlord must keep it separately from their own money, at least at the usual savings interest rate. The interest belongs to you (§ 551 (2) and (3) BGB).

Back payments that are already time-barred may not be taken from your deposit (BGH, 20 July 2016, VIII ZR 263/14).

Deposit reduced by your last utility bill?

Once the last statement arrives, the money held back is set off against it. Whether that statement is right decides how much you get back. We check it item by item and explain the result in English.

Check my statement for free Full report from €24.90

The last statement decides how much of your deposit you get back. You can get your German utility bill checked: the pre-check is free, the full report with a letter to your landlord costs €24.90.

If you read German: our page Nebenkostenabrechnung prüfen lassen explains the same check in German.

FAQ: deposit and utility bill

When do I get my deposit back in Germany?

There is no fixed deadline. After you move out, your landlord may take a reasonable time to check whether there are still claims. Claims for damage to the flat expire six months after the landlord gets the flat back (§ 548 (1) BGB).

Can my landlord keep my deposit because of the utility bill?

Only a reasonable part. If a back payment is to be expected from the last Nebenkostenabrechnung, the landlord may hold back an amount that fits it until that statement is due (BGH, 18 January 2006, VIII ZR 71/05). The rest must be paid out.

How long can my landlord hold back part of the deposit?

At most until the statement for your last year is due: 12 months after the end of the billing period. For a billing year ending on 31 December 2026, that is 31 December 2027.

How high may the deposit be?

At most three months' rent without the service charges (§ 551 (1) BGB). You may pay it in three monthly instalments, and it must be kept separately from the landlord's money with interest.

Can my landlord use the deposit for an old back payment?

Not for back payments that are already time-barred (BGH, 20 July 2016, VIII ZR 263/14). Check the dates of any claim your landlord sets off against the deposit.

Check your last statement before the deposit is gone

Upload your final statement to the free pre-check. You see in English whether the back payment taken from your deposit looks right.

Start free pre-check

Nebenkostenabrechnung check in English

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Legal note: This guide gives general information and is not legal advice on your individual case. Whether an item in your statement is actually not allowed depends on your rental contract and the facts of your case. For legal questions, a tenants' association (Mieterverein) or a lawyer specialising in tenancy law (Fachanwalt für Mietrecht) can help you.

More guides in English

Sources: § 551 BGB · § 548 BGB · § 556 BGB; BGH, judgments of 18 Jan 2006 (VIII ZR 71/05) and 20 Jul 2016 (VIII ZR 263/14)