The rent deposit: how much, and when it comes back
The official ΑΑΔΕ service «Μισθωτήρια ακινήτων». It records the rent, not the deposit — that lives in your agreement.
A residential deposit cannot exceed two months’ rent (Law 1703/1987, άρθρο 2 §2). It comes back without interest once the property and the keys are handed over, minus unpaid rent, open bills, building charges and damage beyond ordinary use. The law names no number of days; in the mamaXO template the deadline is thirty.
Last updated: September 2026
Our free agreement gives the deposit its own article. On paid plans mamaXO holds it under signed rules.
How much deposit may be asked for
The law sets a ceiling, not an amount: up to two months’ rent for a residential lease. Below that the parties agree freely, and in practice the deposit is one or two months.
The ceiling: two months
Two months’ rent is the maximum for a home. «Three months’ deposit» is not a negotiation — it is above the limit the provision sets, whatever the listing or the agent says.
Deposit and advance rent are different things
The first month’s rent is not a deposit and does not count towards the ceiling: it is rent, it is declared as rent, and it does not come back. Write them separately in the agreement, with separate amounts — almost every argument at the end starts here.
How it is paid, and how it is proved
Put the amount and the payment method in the agreement, and leave a trail: a transfer leaves proof, cash does not. When «how much was handed over» is later in dispute, only the paperwork answers.
When it comes back, and what may be withheld
The deposit is returned at the end, without interest, once the property is handed back and the keys returned. The return does not go through myAADE (Taxisnet) and has nothing to do with the lease declaration: it is an obligation between the two parties. The law does not say in how many days — the agreement does, which is why it is worth having those days written down.
How much actually comes back? The sum, in figures
An example (παράδειγμα): rent €600, deposit of two months. The amounts are invented; the rule — deposit minus what is owed — is not.
Deposit paid
€1,200
- −
Rent left unpaid
€0
- −
Electricity bill left open
€85
- −
Building charges for the quarter
€40
- −
Broken window pane — damage, not wear
€150
- =
Returned to the tenant
€925
Every deduction needs proof: a bill, an invoice, a before-and-after photo. Without paper it is an opinion.
- Lease signedthe day the lease starts
- Declared in myAADE by the landlordby the end of the following month
- Accepted by the tenant30 days from the notification
- Proof of declaration (PDF)printed whenever needed: electricity, bank, housing benefit
- Ended or reneweddeclared by the end of the following monthYou are here
What is deducted before it is returned
- Unpaid rent — whatever was still owed on the day the tenant left.
- Utility bills in the tenant’s name that were left open: electricity, water, heating, telecoms.
- Building charges (κοινόχρηστα) that were never settled with the building manager.
- Damage beyond ordinary use — not the normal wear of a home somebody lived in for three years.
The line between «damage» and «ordinary use» is where most move-outs go wrong, and the law does not draw it: a check-in and check-out report with photographs does, made on the day the tenant moves in and made again on the day they leave. Without it, it is one person’s memory against the other’s, and no article of law decides who remembers correctly.
The deposit comes back when the lease ends
The termination is declared by the end of the following month — when the deposit is settled too.
Can the deposit be used instead of the last month’s rent?
This is the most repeated argument between landlords and tenants here, and the honest answer is that the law does not settle it: we found no provision expressly forbidding the set-off and none expressly allowing it. The agreement settles it — and where the agreement is silent, it gets settled by a conversation at the worst possible moment.
What the mamaXO template says
Article 5 of our agreement states that the deposit is not set off against rent and is returned without interest within thirty days of the property being handed back and the keys returned, minus anything owed.
Why it is written that way
The deposit covers all of the tenant’s obligations, not only the last month’s rent: bills that arrive after they leave, the quarter’s building charges, damage that only shows in an empty flat. Spent on the last month, there is nothing left for any of it.
If you agree otherwise
You can — but in writing, dated and signed by both, with the amount spelled out. A verbal «keep the deposit instead of August» is remembered differently by the two sides, and it is remembered at exactly the moment they have already fallen out.
Whatever you agree, put it in writing before the tenant leaves, not after. Once the keys change hands one side has the money and the other has arguments.
See how the deposit is written in our own template
Article 5 sets the amount, payment, return deadline and deductions; the condition report sits beside it.
What the law says, at a glance
Checked against the sources on:
Deposit
Up to two months’ rent; rent may be paid in advance only for the current month.
Άρθρο 2 §2 ν.1703/1987
Deadline for returning it
The law names no number of days: the deposit is returned without interest once the property is handed back, and the agreement sets the days. In the mamaXO template, thirty.
Law 1703/1987, άρθρο 2 §2 · term of the agreement
Minimum term of a residential lease
3 years, even if a shorter or open-ended term is agreed; it can be shortened only by notarial deed at least 6 months after the start.
Άρθρο 2 §1 ν.1703/1987, όπως αντικαταστάθηκε από το άρθρο 1 §5 ν.2235/1994
Rent paid through a bank
Rent must be paid into a landlord bank account notified to ΑΑΔΕ. Start: 01.07.2027, after the postponement by decision Α.1187/2026.
Άρθρο 210 ν.5222/2025 · ΑΑΔΕ Α.1187/2026
Sources
Questions about the deposit
How much deposit can a landlord ask for?
When is the deposit returned?
Can I skip the last month’s rent and let the landlord keep the deposit?
Does the deposit earn interest?
The landlord will not return the deposit. What can I do?
I paid a deposit with no written agreement. Does it count?
I am leaving before the term ends. Do I lose the deposit?
Cash or bank transfer?
mamaXO is a rental management company, not a law or accounting firm. Articles and limits are stated as they stood on the day checked, with the source next to each. For your own case ask a lawyer.
What next? 3 steps — none of them required
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