How do I get my flat deposit back?

I rented a property for 18 months, but since I moved out I have struggled to get my deposit back. My landlady says she is keeping it to pay for damage (absolute nonsense, there was none). We never did an état de lieu when I moved in (I had no idea what it was); what are my rights? What can I do?

Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon problem, as nearly 40 per cent of tenants do not get their deposit back without a fight and nearly 30 per cent of landlords keep the deposit without giving any justification.

However, by law [no 89-462 of 6 July 1989, article 22] your ex-landlady should have returned your deposit within two months of the return of the keys.

If the property is damaged or in a mess, she has the right to retain part of the deposit to return the property to its previous state. However, an état des lieux at beginning and end of the lease would the only way to prove this. She must provide written reasons for keeping the deposit and invoices for money spent.

You should send your landlady a registered letter (lettre recommandée avec avis de réception) asking for the return of your deposit without delay.

As the deposit has not been returned, you can claim interest on it at the current taux d’intérêt légal, which is 0.65 per cent in 2010 (it was 3.79 per cent in 2009).

This should also be specified in your letter and you can download a sample form letter from the service-public.fr website. Here is a shortened form of the address: http://tinyurl.com/cnx-deposit

On average, it takes 3.4 months to get a deposit restored.