Breakage deposits

[sleekitbeastie]

I don't believe it possible to extract a security deposit sufficient to cover all damage guests might inflict. This implies that any deposit will be a token and, for my part, shouldn’t be too high. We ask for £100 – in relation to a weekly rent of just over £400. We have never deducted from it yet.

The septic tank nightmare is a common one. For my part I don’t feel that you could ever charge for the cost of fixing the sort of nasty problem which comes with misusing a WC. How could you prove, even on balance of probability, which guest did it? Blockages usually take time to become complete and therefore evident. Quite apart from that I think it is a bit much to expect people to overcome a lifetime’s reliance on mains drainage and however many times you repeat the mantra of ‘put it down the loo only after you have eaten it’.

The French refer to this deposit as a caution. It should make people a bit more cautious.

But do bank it – otherwise it is completely useless. That said we don’t bank cautions drawn on French banks – I don’t think these can be stopped.

[DivineMrsM]

Hmm. I think £500 may well be too high. Maybe I'll halve it - would that seem more reasonable?

We do know who was responsible for the toilet problem as it was a completely newly installed en suite bathroom and they were the first people to use it. We didn't take any money from the guests though as we weren't able to discover what the fault was until after the season had ended. Too late then .

Ah well. You win some, you lose some

[Paul Carmel]

We take 300 Euros cash (for which we give a signed receipt), no exceptions! If they say "Oh I forgot it", well the cash point is just down the road! At the end we arrange a time to come to the house just before they leave, and after an inspection we give them back the cash (if everything is ok), or else we can discuss with them if there is any problem.

We start the inspection at the top of the house, I do one room, my wife does the other, then we swap and so on. So if I miss something hopefully she will pick up on it and vice versa. We don't charge for minor things (plates, glasses etc) unless the amount is excessive. Warning lights go off when I hear "we broke a wine glass", it usually means they broke a lot more and have hidden it.

I am not saying our method is perfect but 90% of the time it works for us. We've also ended up doing it like this after trying various different ways. In the beginning we wanted to be relaxed, and well, nice, and so if the guests had forgotten we'd let it go, or else agree to collect it later which of course never happened. We used to take a cheque which we posted back later, but we had someone who caused a lot of damage cancel it as soon as they arrived. Also we used to say we'd check properly after they'd left, as often this is very early, but inevitably then problems arise and they deny having done anything. We've found the easiest way is to take cash, as people always want this back, and to discuss any problems face to face, and since we've done it like this we haven't had any trouble.

[paolo]

I am not keen on Paul's method - top to bottom inspection of the house - either as an owner or renter. I would find both embarrassing!

To renters it says you don't really trust them, because even if they say there were no breakages and no damage you then go and check anyway while they wait.

However, if you do take a security deposit, I don't see how else you can police it. Because as Paul says, if you find fault after they have gone, how do you prove it was them? So you are relying on their goodwill, because they could make a stand and not accept your deduction. And if you do that, why not also rely on them to tell you about any damage?

With this reasoning, I very rarely ask for a security deposit. Only for dogs (which I allow with a little arm-twisting), and children in their early teens. This summer I had two teenagers who left chocolate stains on the furniture. Their parents didn't even ask for the deposit back.

[Linda Freese]

We have now set our deposit at £500 which is due at the same time as the balance of the booking (8wks prior to rental). I'm unsure as to what to do with it though . Should we bank it at that point?

I normally charge a 20% deposit of the total rental for our larger property. For our one bedroom apartment we charge £100. Having had stopped cheques in the past, I now require that the cheques have a cheque guarantee card number written on the back. Am I right in saying that the cheque cannot then be stopped???

[alexia s.]

That's right, sleekitbeastie: a cheque drawn on a French bank can only be stopped if it has been lost or stolen. Be warned, though, that the bank will stop it on the (reasonable) say-so of the client & you would then have to consider going through the court system to get it back. That said, the consequences for the French holder who has lied (i.e. pretended that the cheque was lost) are draconian & the chances that a French person will do this can usually be discounted.
N.B. I stopped one of my (French) cheques when the landlord in Paris(I had rented his accommodation) said he had posted the security deposit cheque (he had) but it didn't arrive within a week. I declared loss to the bank, explaining the postal delay & this was accepted. Beware! If you're not a lawyer, don't even dream of going through the French courts!

[DivineMrsM]

Having had stopped cheques in the past, I now require that the cheques have a cheque guarantee card number written on the back. Am I right in saying that the cheque cannot then be stopped???

It depends on the value of the cheque guarantee card. If the card only guarantees up to £100, which I think is the case with most cards, then it wouldn't be much help for a larger deposit.

I think I might go with banking the deposit cheque a week before they arrive, and returning it a week after they leave. I'll reduce the amount to £250 though.

[Linda Freese]

If the cheque guarantee card is less than the value of the deposit, I ask for two cheques. I never bank them prior to the guests stay, only afterwards and only if there has been significant damage. I find that people are normally much more careful if you are holding their money!

[sleekitbeastie]

If the cheque guarantee card is less than the value of the deposit, I ask for two cheques. I never bank them prior to the guests stay, only afterwards and only if there has been significant damage. I find that people are normally much more careful if you are holding their money!

You should be aware that taking two cheques in this way invalidates the cheque card guarantee on both cheques. It may be difficult for the bank to prove that the cheques were written to cover a single transaction but under the circumstances in which you would be cashing them you might expect the renter to support the bank. That way you lose both cheques.

[Linda Freese]

You should be aware that taking two cheques in this way invalidates the cheque card guarantee on both cheques.

Thanks for the advice - you learn something new every day!

[Fiona]

Hi I am a newbie as I see you call them! We have 2 properties in the Algarve (Praia da Luz) a villa and a new apartment. The very first guests at the new apartment were a group from Madrid who turned out to be a group of 20ish year olds. Our usual poicy (as we had always done with the villa) was for our management agent to collect a £300 cash or cheque deposit from the new guests when they visited them on the first day of their stay. This group claimed poverty-no money,no cheques and no credit card etc so couldn't pay the deposit. I suspect that they were a group of students. The agent had little choice but to accept this-they were a pleasant group. When it came to leaving day they basically didn't leave! Luckily my husband and I were there (at the villa) on holiday ourselves by this time and we called round to check on the apt as we were a bit worried about it having known no deposit had been collected. the apt was fine, but all their stuff was still there and they weren't. Luckily, being a new apt, we hadn't got back to back bookings. Also fortunately I had all my paper-work with me which included the lead name's mobile number-(I always try to get a mobile number now) We phoned him and they were having a day out at a surfing beach!!! They seemed surprised that we were expecting them out (it is all crystal clear in all the paperwork) and said if they had to they would come back now and pack or could they pay another €150 euros and stay another night? We agreed to this ( abit more money and keep on the right side of them) and they were good to their word, We called round in the evening to collect the €150 (obviously somebody had found money since the deposit was requested!!!) in cash and they left early the next morning-the apt intact thank God.
For the apt I now collect a £200 deposit or euro equivalent with the balance and cash it. I have not had to deduct from it and wouldn't deduct for little things, but have realised that without a deposit not only is there less incentive to care for your property there is no incentive to get out at the end of your booked stay either.At the villa we still use he old method-a different type of guest I think and so far no problems. I have made deductions there for large breakages-glass doors on cabinet, CD player, broken brand new sunbed-I think used as a spring-board!
Lets face it if you make a deduction from soemebody's deposit you have lost that person as a potential return visitor in almost all circumstances-unless they come to you apaologising and offering to pay.A return visitor is worth a lot of money so making a deduction is something I think long and hard about.
Sorry-must learn to be concise!

[paolo]

Sorry-must learn to be concise!

Not at all, that's an informative post - welcome to the forum!