Search Q&A
Rental guarantee : blocked account vs cash?
Hi all,
my possible future landlord wants me to give 2 months rent in cash as a rental guarantee, instead of in a blocked account.
I'm concerned about this, because it would obviously put me in a weak position regarding getting the deposit back. As such, I didn't sign the contract yet.
I read comments on a few sites that suggested that this is illegal in Belgium..
- can anyone confirm if it is legal to demand cash payment as rental guarantee Y/N?
- is there a Belgian govt site that clarifies the law regarding this?
Thanks very much for any input you can give me!
I doubt if it is legal to DEMAND cash but it is irrelevant anyway; if you don't want to give cash the landlord loses a potential tenant.
However, I know that people often give cash by mutual agreement, commonly with an arrangement over annual rental increases favourable to the tenant.
> illegal in Belgium
Yes, it is illegal.
Avoid.
Illegal
http://www.belgium.be/nl/huisvesting/huren_en_verhuren/huurwaarborg/
If it is an official agency they are in breach of their associations ethical code.
http://www.biv.be/NV_3_D.php?lingua=NL
Personally - of I had the time - I would report them, because else they will keep on doing this...
In fact, aren't there special locked bank accounts you use to lodge the deposit in?
The law does not state that there must be a rental guarantee, but if the landlord does require one (and I would be hard to find one that does not), there are only three legal options to establish one with money (a guarantee can also be established with other means but this is rare):
- a bank account established in the name of the tenant; the signature of both the tenant and the landlord is required to release the funds at the end of the rental period.
- a bank guarantee, i.e the bank puts up the money instead of the tenant, and charges a (hefty) fee for this service
- a bank guarantee which is established in connection with the CPAS (this option probably not much used by the average expat tenant).
If the landlord receives the guarantee in cash, they have to establish a bank account in the name of the tenant without delay. However, if they do not do so there are no specific sanctions in the law; just the mention that the landlord must pay the tenant interest on the money.
As others have said, it would be wise to avoid a landlord that demands the rental guarantee in cash; if they are ignorant of such a basic rule they are not likely to be a good landlord anyway as they won't know any of the relevant rules and regulations. Or worse, they do not that the money should be in a bank account, but do not care, which really should start alarm bells ringing.
However, it does sound strange that an agency would be demanding this. They should know better. Are you sure they are talking about the rental guarantee, and not for example of some sort of advance payment of the rent of the first month?
At our last rented apartment our deposit was placed in a 'with profits' insurance policy.
If either of us had died there were various benefits for the survivor and, when we left, the deposit was returned within 48 hours with 5.5% per annum compound interest - far more than we would have received if it had been in a blocked bank account.
This means that either:
A major national insurance company is offering something illegal, or
There are actually MORE than three legal options of how to deal with a deposit.
Incidentally, I have never heard of anyone else who has been offered this option.
Don't do it. Use a blocked account.
With cash you have absolutely nothing to say if he doesn't want to give it back...
Kasseistamper, was this quite recently? The law changed in 2007. If yes, maybe this arrangement is considered to be equal to a bank guarantee.
For more information on the three legal options to handle a guarantee where money is involved, see http://www.belgium.be/fr/logement/location/garantie_locative/
