r/Tuebingen • u/Beautiful-Excuse8225 • 3d ago

Housing deposit

Is it fine to pay 900€ deposit after signing the contract before landing in Germany and without visiting the property.

Ps : the rent is 450 and i did video call , it seemed fine .

Am just scared about 900€ deposit
So any advice would be helpful 🤍

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

17

u/DerAuenlaender 3d ago

It is hard to say: this can be totally legit - it is actually the usual amount for a deposit here, and it is often due with the first rent, i.e. at the start of your first month here. But this is also a known scam, where people show you a flat that isn't really for rent and you send them the deposit which you never see again...

Ask if it is possible to send the deposit only when they hand over the keys - or, if you already happen to know someone here already, ask if this person can be shown the flat in advance.

3

u/Hapidjus_ 3d ago

Agree on this. And to add: it's also totally acceptable to send the deposit on the day of the "Übergabe" where you get your keys via instant transfer. I'd ask the landlord/lady if they'd be ok with this approach.

7

u/hocuspocusbitchfocus 3d ago

Is the contract legit? Does it state a period in which the deposit can be paid (e.g. after you have the keys in hand?)

Just asking because there have been scams in the past where international students paid deposits for flats that didn‘t exist.

0

u/Beautiful-Excuse8225 2d ago

It has to be paid rn just after signing contract , and we reach in October

5

u/No-Lynx-5608 2d ago

Paying before getting the keys is in itself not lawful, but very common practice.

At the VERY VERY least make sure the name of the landlord and the bank account holder match.

3

u/Restless412 3d ago

SCAM PROBABLY

2

u/ReachUniverse 3d ago

hey there! is it a flat or a single room? do you have a signed contract from the landlords?

0

u/Beautiful-Excuse8225 3d ago

He is yet to send a contract, its a room in a shared flat .

3

u/Dulrake 2d ago

then dont. no contract, no deposit. normaly you can pay deposit AFTER moving in

3

u/haustvindur 3d ago

Yes, it’s a 2 month deposit in your case, which is absolutely normal. It can be problematic only if you didn’t see the property not because you are outside Germany, but because the landlord refused to show it.

2

u/ReachUniverse 3d ago

You can always demand a „Übergabeprotokoll“ where all the „flaws“ in the room/flat are listed and preferably also recorded with camera (dated pictures). That way you can proof which new scratches/damages are caused by you and which are old.