Your Old Landlord Won't Return Your Deposit, What Actually Happens Next
A landlord genuinely has some time to review a deposit before returning it, legal guides consistently describe a reasonable review period of roughly three to six months as normal, so silence in the first few weeks after you move out isn't yet a red flag on its own. Once that reasonable window has clearly passed with no itemized response and no payment, the next step is a written demand letter (ideally sent registered, mit Rückschein) giving a firm two-week deadline. If that deadline passes without a real response, you, as the one owed money this time, can file for a Mahnbescheid yourself through Bavaria's Zentrales Mahngericht at Amtsgericht Coburg, the same central court that issues every Mahnbescheid in the state regardless of who's applying for one. Your former landlord then has 14 days to pay or object, and if they do nothing, you can request a Vollstreckungsbescheid, a fully enforceable court order. Keep the statute of limitations in mind throughout: under Section 199 BGB, your claim to the deposit generally expires three years after the end of the year in which you learned your landlord wasn't going to pay it back.
The Official Rule
Not hearing back about a deposit within the first few weeks of moving out is common enough that it doesn’t automatically mean something has gone wrong, but there’s a real point where reasonable waiting turns into a dispute worth escalating deliberately.
A landlord genuinely does get some time to review the situation before paying anything back. According to hopkins.law, a firm specializing in tenancy law, a review period of roughly three to six months after move-out is widely treated as reasonable, giving the landlord time to inspect for damage, settle any final Nebenkosten, and work out what portion, if any, of the deposit gets withheld.
Once that window has clearly passed without any itemized response, a structured escalation path exists, and you don’t need a lawyer to start it.
- Written demand letter Send a firm, dated request, ideally by registered mail (Einschreiben mit Rückschein), giving a two-week deadline for either full payment or a written, itemized explanation of any deduction.
- File for a Mahnbescheid If the deadline passes with no real response, you apply through Bavaria's Zentrales Mahngericht at Amtsgericht Coburg, the same centralized court that handles every Mahnverfahren in the state, regardless of who is applying.
- Your landlord gets 14 days to respond They can either pay, or file a formal Widerspruch (objection).
- If they do nothing, request a Vollstreckungsbescheid This becomes a fully enforceable court order, letting you pursue actual enforcement of the debt.
- If they object, it becomes a real lawsuit Handled by the court with jurisdiction over the underlying dispute, typically Amtsgericht München for a Munich rental case, this time with you as the party bringing the claim.
One detail is easy to overlook until it’s too late: the claim itself doesn’t stay open forever. Under Section 199 BGB, the regular limitation period is three years, and the clock starts running at the end of the calendar year in which the claim arose and you became aware, or should reasonably have become aware, of the relevant facts, meaning the point at which it was clear your landlord wasn’t going to pay the deposit back voluntarily. Letting a dispute drift for years without any written demand risks losing the claim entirely, not just making it harder to prove.
What Real People Say
Guidance aimed at tenants chasing an unreturned deposit describes a consistent pattern: the families who eventually get their deposit back describe treating the demand letter as the real turning point, several note that a landlord who had gone silent for weeks suddenly paid, or at least responded with an itemized explanation, once a firm, written, dated deadline was actually on record. The ones who describe the process dragging on for months are usually the ones who kept calling or emailing informally without ever sending a genuinely formal demand, which left no clear point where the landlord’s silence became legally significant.
Step by Step
- Give your former landlord a reasonable review window, roughly three to six months, before treating silence as a real problem.
- Send a written demand letter with a firm two-week deadline, ideally by registered mail, once that window has clearly passed.
- File for a Mahnbescheid yourself through Amtsgericht Coburg if the deadline passes without payment or a real, itemized response.
- Request a Vollstreckungsbescheid if your former landlord doesn’t respond within their own 14-day window.
- Keep your Wohnungsübergabeprotokoll and all correspondence ready, if your landlord objects and the dispute becomes a full lawsuit, this documentation is what determines the outcome.
Compliance Note
This page explains the general escalation path for an unreturned deposit under German civil procedure, but it is not legal advice. For your specific situation, confirm the current deadlines and procedure with a tenant association (Mieterverein) or a lawyer specializing in Mietrecht.
FAQ & Common Pitfalls
How long can my landlord legally wait before returning my deposit?
There's no single fixed deadline written into the law, which is exactly why this becomes a judgment call in practice. Legal guides consistently describe a reasonable review period of roughly three to six months after move-out as normal, giving the landlord time to check for damage, settle any final utility costs, and calculate what, if anything, gets deducted. Silence in the first month or two isn't yet a sign of a real problem. It's once that window has clearly passed, with no itemized breakdown and no partial or full payment, that escalation becomes reasonable.
Do I really have to be the one who starts the Mahnverfahren?
Yes, and this is the reverse of the more familiar situation where a family receives a Mahnbescheid from a creditor chasing a debt. Here, you're the one who's owed money, so you're the Antragsteller, the applicant who files for the Mahnbescheid, and your former landlord becomes the Antragsgegner, the respondent. In Bavaria, every Mahnbescheid request, regardless of who's filing it or against whom, goes through the same centralized Zentrales Mahngericht at Amtsgericht Coburg, not your local Munich court.
What if my former landlord actually objects to the Mahnbescheid?
Then the streamlined dunning procedure ends, and the dispute moves toward becoming a genuine lawsuit if you choose to pursue it further, handled by the court with actual jurisdiction over the case, typically Amtsgericht München for a Munich rental dispute. At that point, having a signed move-in and move-out Wohnungsübergabeprotokoll becomes genuinely decisive, since the burden of proof for what condition the apartment was actually in, and therefore whether any deduction was justified, sits with you as the tenant.