Landlord didn’t return security

steveFS wrote:

Any suggestions on how to deal with a landlord in Budapest
who doesn’t return a security deposit? ( with no justification). Thanks

How much is it in relation to the rent? 1 month? 2 months?

Is the landlord claiming some damage?

Did you pay the last month's rent?

steveFS wrote:

The landlord had two months security. I lived there for 3 years. I gave him 6 weeks notice that I was moving. We agreed that I would not pay the last months rent and that he would return the other month. He and I inspected the apartment together the day I left. He said there were no issues and said that he would transfer the remaining month minus utilities to my bank after he got all the bills. He never did  and for a long time he did not respond to my emails. Finally he transferred about half the months rent. He took out 100,000 forint for cleaning. The apartment was clean when I left. He inspected with me. Even so, I can’t believe it cost 100,000 forints to clean an apartment and after three years any minor cleaning he did ( curtains, rugs) would be normal.  When i lived there he always send me copies of the utilities and I paid them. Now, he didn’t send me copies of the bills, and some of them are 3 or 4 times what I usually paid. I always paid rent on time and he never had problems with me as a tenant. It was a furnished apartment and I bought things for the apartment ( towels, shower curtain, more dishes, cutlery, etc) with my own money and left them there for him

My 2cts.

I'm afraid this is the way it goes here and in many other places without serious regulations.  I've had the same in the past.  I had one landlord who did the same kind of thing to me.  In the end, I never got my money back.  I always assumed I would never get the money back from that point.

So in subsequent rentals, I never did anything. I swept up, cleaned things as best I could but didn't bother hiding damaged parts and I gave everything away to locals.   He complained like hell and threatened me with the law but I just said, you've got the deposit/caution/security, you can use that to fix it up as you wish.  He had nothing to complain about.  It made him plenty of money over the period and he had my deposit for years.   Absolute minimum deposit/security/caution is the name of the game - preferably not more than a month.

You do have an ultimate threat to use remotely (i.e. from abroad) but it might seem like a very nasty revenge but if he's being a b*****d, he might deserve it.  If he's been renting it without declaring his taxes, then you could say that you're going to tell the NAV (tax office) about him.  If he has declared it, then he won't care but if he hasn't you might get some of your money back from the fear factor.  The last thing he'll want is NAV snooping around his business - costs time and money even if nothing is wrong. NAV will want copies of the receipts or bank deposits in his or his relatives name.  It's a last resort to do that, a bridge burning exercise with him and no coming back.  Like open warfare.   Be also aware they might become interested in you.

In bargaining, maybe you could ask him for the 100K HUF,  then work down if necessary to 80K HUF and agree 20K HUF for "cleaning".    I wouldn't bother with discussing much further than that.  My experience here is that many ordinary people are very stubborn, highly reactionary and very little "street smarts" when it comes to tactics in negotiations.   

If you do tell NAV then you definitely will not get your money back so let him have a week to ponder the implications of this final goodbye.

SimCityAT wrote:

Student says she lost her £210 deposit after landlord found a single pea in the freezer

Reminds me of my student digs. By mistake I left a small poster stuck on the ceiling.  Cost me something like £20 back in the 1970s.  That was when money was really worth something.

Any update on this? Many of us would benefits from m it. Since I left the tenee didn't reply at all

Any update on this? Many of us would benefits from m it. Since I left the tenee didn't reply at all
-@Bigdong

How much is your deposit/security money/caution worth?

Hi,

I am a student here. I did a four-month contract for a stay in a shared room and handed 2 month deposits. Unfortunately, the landlord told me during second month of stay that the place was going to be closed or shut down for no apparent reasons. I did inform him I would move at the end of the month but on that day, he didn't even come. And later, so many times, I asked for it on whatsapp and he replied, "I will sure". Can I complain this to police here in Budapest?

    Hi,I am a student here. I did a four-month contract for a stay in a shared room and handed 2 month deposits. Unfortunately, the landlord told me during second month of stay that the place was going to be closed or shut down for no apparent reasons. I did inform him I would move at the end of the month but on that day, he didn't even come. And later, so many times, I asked for it on whatsapp and he replied, "I will sure". Can I complain this to police here in Budapest?         -@Kyaw Nyunt

In my mind, it's not a criminal offence but a civil contract dispute. 

Do you have the landlord's name and address? If he's stolen your money, he will have put it in his pocket.  If you are out of there, it's better and better he doesn't know where you are. If he refunds, he can refund to your bank account without you meeting with him.   

You should also  ask your university or student union for advice as this seems like a common problem the university international office will know about.

If you are getting nowhere, and you may leave soon, as a last resort you can tell the tax office and they will investigate him.  You can tell him you're going to do it as a last threat when you are about to leave. He might give in and pay up.  You don't have to meet him to get the money.

But realistically you probably won't get your money back but maybe he'll be punished for not declaring his unearned income. It will cause him a lot more trouble than the security is worth.  If he's doing this to other people, then it will cost him big time.