A rental deposit in Da Nang is usually one month's rent, two in pricier apartments and villas, and it comes back at move-out minus unpaid bills and damage beyond normal wear. Most disputes are not about the law but about evidence: what the apartment looked like on the first day. Below is what Vietnamese law says about a deposit, what the owner may keep, and the steps that get it back.

What the law says

Vietnam's Civil Code of 2015 treats a deposit (đặt cọc, Article 328) as money one party hands to the other to secure the signing or the performance of a contract. Three consequences follow, and they apply unless the contract says otherwise:

  • Once the contract is signed and performed, the deposit is returned or counted towards what is owed.
  • If the tenant refuses to sign or to perform the contract, the owner keeps the deposit.
  • If the owner refuses, the owner returns the deposit and pays the tenant the same amount on top.

This is why a deposit paid to "hold" an apartment is lost if you change your mind, and why an owner who cancels after taking it owes you double. During the lease the details, such as the deadline for returning it and what can be deducted, are set by the lease itself. The Housing Law of 2023 (Article 172) adds that whoever ends a lease early on their own must give the other side at least 30 days' notice, unless the lease says otherwise.

What the owner may keep and what not

May keep, if the lease says so: unpaid rent, the last electricity and water bills, the cost of damage beyond normal wear as recorded against the handover report, and lost keys or cards.

Should not keep: normal wear such as faded paint, small marks from pictures or worn sofa fabric; cleaning, unless the lease asks for the apartment back cleaned; and repairs to things that were already broken at move-in, if the report shows it.

Leaving early is the main case where the deposit is lost lawfully: most leases say so, and in the logic of Article 328 it is the tenant who does not perform. Agree in writing beforehand that with 30 days' notice and a replacement tenant found, the deposit comes back; more on that in our guide to the lease and deposit.

Step by step

  1. At signing. Check that the lease states the deposit amount, the currency it is returned in, a deadline for the return, such as seven days after move-out, and what may be deducted. Pay it only to the owner named in the lease, with a payment reference; how to check the owner is in our guide to rental scams.
  2. At move-in. Make a handover report with photos of every room, the furniture and the appliances, and the meter readings, signed by both sides. Photograph scratches, stains and what does not work, and send the photos to the owner the same day so they have a date. What to look at is in the viewing checklist.
  3. During the lease. Keep the receipts for rent and bills, and report breakages in writing as they happen.
  4. Before move-out. Give notice in writing as the lease requires, 30 days if it says nothing else, and agree the date of the final inspection.
  5. At move-out. Walk the apartment with the owner against the move-in report, read the meters, hand back the keys and cards, and sign a short return record that states the deposit amount, any deductions and the date it will be returned.

If the deposit does not come back

Write to the owner with the lease clause, the report and a deadline, in a message you can show later. If that does not work, the dispute can go to the local mediation team in your residential area (hòa giải ở cơ sở) and then to a civil claim at the people's court; with the report, the photos and the messages you have what a court looks at. For a sum of one month's rent, a calm written request with evidence settles most cases.

Under leases through us we draw up the handover report with photos and meter readings at move-in, and at move-out we walk the apartment against the same report. The rest of the process is on the how to rent page. This is general information, not legal advice; for your own case talk to a lawyer.