Rental Deposit in Nha Trang: Return, Deductions, Disputes

If the lease is concluded and performed, the deposit is returned to you or deducted to pay what you owe. If you refuse to conclude or perform it, the receiver keeps it. If the landlord refuses, the deposit comes back plus an equal amount, unless agreed otherwise.

By Vincent Nguyen

One clause of the Civil Code decides who keeps a rental deposit, and it gives three outcomes depending on whether the lease goes ahead and who backs out.

This guide takes the clause apart, then covers the move-out, the deductions and the places in Nha Trang where a dispute goes. For the lease itself, see Rental Contract in Nha Trang. For finding a flat, see Renting an Apartment in Nha Trang.

What a deposit is under the Civil Code

Đặt cọc là việc một bên (sau đây gọi là bên đặt cọc) giao cho bên kia (sau đây gọi là bên nhận đặt cọc) một khoản tiền hoặc kim khí quý, đá quý hoặc vật có giá trị khác (sau đây gọi chung là tài sản đặt cọc) trong một thời hạn để bảo đảm giao kết hoặc thực hiện hợp đồng

A deposit is one party (the depositor) handing over to the other party (the deposit-receiver) a sum of money, or precious metal, gemstones or other valuable property (together, the deposited property), for a period, to secure the conclusion or the performance of a contract.

Civil Code 91/2015/QH13, Điều 328 khoản 1

The definition covers two jobs. A deposit can secure the conclusion of a contract, and it can secure the performance of one.

You are the depositor and the landlord or agent is the deposit-receiver. The deposited property is usually money, but the clause also names precious metal, gemstones and other valuable property.

The three outcomes of a deposit

One paragraph of Article 328 settles all three cases.

Trường hợp hợp đồng được giao kết, thực hiện thì tài sản đặt cọc được trả lại cho bên đặt cọc hoặc được trừ để thực hiện nghĩa vụ trả tiền

If the contract is concluded and performed, the deposited property is returned to the depositor, or is deducted to perform the obligation to pay.

nếu bên đặt cọc từ chối việc giao kết, thực hiện hợp đồng thì tài sản đặt cọc thuộc về bên nhận đặt cọc

If the depositor refuses to conclude or perform the contract, the deposited property belongs to the deposit-receiver.

nếu bên nhận đặt cọc từ chối việc giao kết, thực hiện hợp đồng thì phải trả cho bên đặt cọc tài sản đặt cọc và một khoản tiền tương đương giá trị tài sản đặt cọc, trừ trường hợp có thoả thuận khác

If the deposit-receiver refuses to conclude or perform the contract, it must return the deposited property plus an amount of money equal to the value of the deposited property, unless otherwise agreed.

Civil Code 91/2015/QH13, Điều 328 khoản 2

The lease goes ahead

The deposit is returned to you, or deducted to perform the obligation to pay. The clause names both outcomes and does not say who chooses between them.

So agree in the lease what the deposit covers and when it is returned.

You refuse to go through with it

The deposited property belongs to the deposit-receiver if the depositor refuses to conclude or perform the contract. That is the rule if you walk away from a flat after paying a holding deposit.

The landlord refuses

The landlord who refuses to conclude or perform must return the deposit plus an amount equal to its value, unless otherwise agreed. Read your own deposit receipt for any different term, since the clause starts from what the parties agreed.

The “plus an equal amount” rule is about refusing to conclude or perform the contract. A landlord who keeps the money after the lease was performed falls under the first outcome, where the deposit is returned or deducted.

Four common cases

You pay a holding deposit and change your mind. The deposit belongs to the receiver if you refuse to conclude the contract. Ask before paying whether the receipt says otherwise.

The landlord lets the flat to someone else after taking your deposit. That is the landlord refusing to conclude the contract. You are owed the deposit back plus an equal amount, unless otherwise agreed.

You stop paying rent. Where rent is paid by period, the landlord may end the contract if you miss three consecutive periods, unless agreed otherwise. The Housing Law gives a second threshold of 3 months or more of unpaid rent. The deposit can then be deducted to perform the obligation to pay.

You leave early. The party ending the lease unilaterally gives at least 30 days’ notice, unless the parties agree otherwise. If breaching this causes damage, compensation is owed as the law provides. Check the notice clause before you pack.

Typical deposits in Nha Trang

AffordWhere says a deposit is usually 1-2 months. The same source says furnished serviced apartments are common for expats. Treat that as a starting point for negotiation, since the Civil Code leaves the amount to the parties.

Two forms are common, and both fit the legal definition.

Get a written receipt for either one. Name the amount, the flat, the date and who receives the money, because the deposit rule turns on who refused what.

Keep your passport. The UK government says not to give your passport as a guarantee to motorcycle rental shops or landlords.

Deposit and ky cuoc are not the same

A ky cuoc is the lessee of movable property handing over a sum or valuables to secure the return of the leased property. Houses and buildings attached to land are immovable property. A flat deposit is therefore a Civil Code deposit, not a ky cuoc.

Is there a legal cap on the deposit?

The Real Estate Business Law sets a cap, but for a different transaction.

Chủ đầu tư dự án bất động sản chỉ được thu tiền đặt cọc không quá 5% giá bán, cho thuê mua nhà ở, công trình xây dựng, phần diện tích sàn xây dựng trong công trình xây dựng từ bên đặt cọc để mua, thuê mua

A real estate project investor may collect a deposit of no more than 5% of the sale or hire-purchase price of housing, construction works or floor area in a construction work, from the depositor who is to buy or hire-purchase it.

Law on Real Estate Business 29/2023/QH15, Điều 23 khoản 5

That cap is a percentage of a sale or hire-purchase price. It does not mention a landlord’s deposit for a lease. Article 328, the deposit article, mentions no cap either.

Handover day: what to record

The tenant returns the leased property in a condition similar to when received, except natural wear and tear, or as agreed. The day you receive the flat is therefore the baseline.

Record the baseline on that day:

• Photograph each room, the fittings and the meters.
• Write down what already works and what does not.
• Ask both sides to sign the list.

The landlord must hand over the flat in the condition agreed and give the information needed to use it. A record of the agreed condition is the tenant’s evidence if a deduction is claimed later.

Keep these papers together until the money is back:

Deductions when you move out

The deposit can be deducted to perform the obligation to pay. The Civil Code names three things a landlord claims for, and one it excludes.

If you return the property late, the landlord may ask for the property back, the rent for the delay and compensation for damage. A late-return penalty applies if it was agreed.

The landlord’s repair duty is the other side of the ledger. The landlord repairs damage and defects, except minor damage that custom makes the tenant repair. A tenant who was ignored may repair at reasonable cost and ask the landlord to pay.

So a landlord cannot bill you for repairs the landlord owed. Raise this in writing if the deduction list includes them.

Electricity, water and the deposit

Utility bills often decide the last deduction. Household electricity is billed on a rising six-tier tariff, from VND 1,984 per kWh for the first 50 kWh.

A landlord who charges a tenant more than the regulated household price for electricity is fined VND 20,000,000-30,000,000. The landlord must refund the excess, plus interest as agreed in the rental contract.

Check the final meter reading and the tier arithmetic before agreeing a deduction. The full rules, including how many people count as a household, are in Landlord Electricity Price in Nha Trang.

If the landlord will not return it

The first step is the deposit clause: which of the three outcomes applies. Put your demand in writing and attach the handover record.

Then you have two routes:

1. Grassroots mediation, which is voluntary.
2. A court claim, with a 3-year limitation period.

Mediation through the ward

Grassroots mediation is carried out for disputes, conflicts and legal violations, with four exceptions. The exceptions are disputes that infringe State or public interests and violations that must be prosecuted or sanctioned. Family and civil-transaction violations that civil procedure law does not allow to be mediated are also excluded, as are other barred disputes.

Việc hòa giải ở cơ sở được tiến hành đối với các mâu thuẫn, tranh chấp, vi phạm pháp luật, trừ các trường hợp sau đây

Grassroots mediation is carried out for disputes, conflicts and legal violations, except the following cases.

Law on Grassroots Mediation 35/2013/QH13, Điều 3 khoản 1

Mediation respects the parties’ voluntary will and does not force or impose it on them. The Law defines the parties as individuals, groups of individuals, families, groups of families and organisations, and the definition does not mention nationality.

Mediation teams sit in a village or residential group. In Nha Trang, ask your ward People’s Committee which residential group your address belongs to and who runs its mediation team.

Use the office of the ward where the flat is.

A new mediation law from 1 March 2027

A new Law on Grassroots Mediation takes effect on 1 March 2027. The current law expires from that date. Cases not finished by then continue under the current law.

The new law keeps three points relevant to a deposit dispute:

• Mediation respects the parties’ voluntary will and does not force or impose it.
• The spoken and written language in mediation is Vietnamese.
• The parties have the right to choose, propose or ask to change the mediator, the invited participant and the interpreter.

A party also has the right to ask the competent People’s Court to recognise a successful mediation result. The new text excludes disputes arising from a civil transaction that violates a legal prohibition or social morality.

So bring an interpreter if you do not speak Vietnamese.

Going to court

A court claim has a deadline.

Thời hiệu khởi kiện để yêu cầu Tòa án giải quyết tranh chấp hợp đồng là 03 năm, kể từ ngày người có quyền yêu cầu biết hoặc phải biết quyền và lợi ích hợp pháp của mình bị xâm phạm

The limitation period for a request to a court to resolve a contract dispute is 03 years, from the date the person entitled to make the request knew or should have known that their lawful right or interest was infringed.

Civil Code 91/2015/QH13, Điều 429

The text does not name the event that starts the clock for a deposit. Counting from the date the money was due back or the landlord’s first refusal, whichever came first, is the cautious choice.

The list of court headquarters puts the Regional People’s Court 1 of Khanh Hoa, covering the former Nha Trang city, at 104 Nguyen Trai Street, Nha Trang Ward. The Khanh Hoa Provincial People’s Court is at 02 Phan Boi Chau Street.

Ask the reception desk of the regional court which court takes your claim before you file.

If you leave early, or the owner sells

If you refuse to perform the lease, the deposit belongs to the deposit-receiver. Read the notice clause in your lease before you decide to leave.

The Housing Law lets a tenant end the lease in set cases, with at least 30 days’ notice unless agreed otherwise. The cases and the notice are in Rental Contract in Nha Trang.

If the owner transfers the flat while the term runs, you may keep leasing until the term ends. The new owner continues the contract, unless the parties agree otherwise.

Ask the old landlord to confirm in writing who now holds your deposit.

Before you pay a deposit

Run through this list before you hand over money:

1. The receipt names the amount, the flat, the date and the receiver.
2. You know which outcome applies if you back out, or the landlord does.
3. The lease says what the deposit covers and when it is returned.
4. The handover condition is recorded and photographed.
5. The lease says who repairs what.
6. You keep your passport.
7. You have the ward office address for the flat’s ward.

For the lease itself and registering your stay with the ward police, see finding an apartment in Nha Trang. For the days around arrival, see the First Week in Nha Trang Checklist. To pick an area, see Where to Live in Nha Trang.

Photos and clips uploaded to Google Maps (Panorama Nha Trang apartment tower on Google Maps (opens in a new tab), Muong Thanh Luxury Khanh Hoa tower on Google Maps (opens in a new tab), People's Committee of Nha Trang Ward on Google Maps (opens in a new tab), Regional People's Court 1 Khanh Hoa, Nha Trang on Google Maps (opens in a new tab)) by @KJ AHN, @하하하, @Beauty Destination, @iFruit iFruit, @오문희, @Mão Nguyễn Kế (Mike Nguyen), @Tuấn Tử Tế GTO Event (Tuấn Tử Tế), @Duong Tran, @Phong Lê, @Sergei Shumov, @Ty Tiy (Ty), @Arlene Lum.

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Not confirmed: Which court takes a deposit dispute in Nha Trang after the court reorganisation: ask the regional court's reception desk before filing. Which desk at the ward office takes a mediation request: ask at the ward. The Civil Code names no return deadline: write one into the lease.

General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.

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