A rent guarantee is a sum of money requested by the lessor or owner of a property to prevent possible unpaid bills or damage caused by the tenant.
Usually, a rental contract (or lease contract) includes a rent guarantee in its clauses. However, it is possible - but very rare - that the contract does not require one, for example for parking spaces or garages. The law provides that this sum represents a maximum of 3 months' rent. Here too it is possible - but again very rare - that the amount is lower, which can happen in some regions. This rent guarantee can be taken out with a surety company or can simply be made by a deposit of the amount fixed by the rental agreement into a bank account.
he purpose of this article is to introduce you to the advantages and disadvantages of these two types of rental guarantee. At the time of signing the lease for the apartment or house of your dreams, this is a question that will surely arise. We have listed the characteristics of each type of rental guarantee to help you make your choice.
Rental guarantee without bank deposit via insurance or a specialized company?
It is obvious that if it is impossible for you to subscribe to a rental guarantee by bank deposit, if you wish to keep your cash available for other projects or if your previous rental guarantee is still blocked on a bank account as part of your previous rental, the "rental guarantee without bank deposit" option is the ideal solution.
If there are specialist institutions such as SwissCaution, FirstCaution or GoCaution, you can also take out a more conventional insurance policy with an insurance company such as AXA or Helvetia. Contracts with an insurer are largely identical to contracts with surety companies.
Please note that not all landlords accept rental guarantees through an insurance company or a specialised company: some require you to open an account with a bank. Similarly, a landlord may only accept certain companies and not others. Therefore, we advise you to ask your manager or landlord which method and which company he is likely to accept for your rental guarantee.
The principle of the rental guarantee is to insure the possible unpaid rent or damage caused in the accommodation. This means that in the event of a proven dispute, the guarantee company will first compensate the landlord and then ask you to reimburse the sums involved. In other words, you take out "insurance" that protects the landlord.
The steps to obtain a rent guarantee are relatively simple and quick by using surety companies. An initial request for a rent guarantee can be made on the Internet by filling out a form. This allows you to obtain without further delay the rental guarantee certificate required to complete your rental file. In other words, the procedures are simplified as much as possible.
Last but not least, the impact on your budget. On a monthly basis, the expenses related to the security deposit contract are relatively low. However, if you add up each of the premiums over the long term, for example over several years, the sums can be so high that it might be worthwhile to study the rental guarantee by bank deposit.
Bank rental guarantee account?
f you prefer to turn to a rental guarantee deposit, there are a number of points to note. Firstly, the rental deposit account is opened in the name of the future tenant(s). The bank will then issue a certificate of the opening of the rental deposit account to be given to the landlord. This account can be free of charge, which is often the case if your private account has been opened at the same bank.
he amount of the rental deposit is blocked in the bank for the entire duration of the rental agreement. The realisation of a rental guarantee per deposit account is done at the bank after approval by the lessor. Indeed, if you are not in good standing with your payments, the landlord can, on presentation of a legal document of formal notice, recover the unpaid amount from this account. If a dispute arises between you and the landlord, the landlord may not agree to release your money for a period of up to one year after the end of the lease.
In order to effectively choose the bank where to open your rental deposit account, you will therefore need to pay attention to the administrative costs: opening costs, closing costs, etc. You will also be able to recover the interest on this account, even if it is currently very low.
You now have an idea of the advantages and disadvantages as well as the characteristics of each solution and the points to watch out for when you take out your rental guarantee. It remains for us to point out that it is entirely possible to change the type of rent guarantee (in a bank or not) during the course of the lease. To make the best choice, we invite you to take a look at our comparative tables "guaranteed rent without deposit" and "guaranteed rent bank deposit" to easily and quickly select the best possible provider that corresponds to your needs.
