Deposit refund – important advice for international tenants

We would like to share an important recommendation regarding the bank account you provide for the refund of your rental deposit.

For international transfers, the procedure is unfortunately not always as straightforward as it should be. Before a deposit can be refunded, we ask you to provide your bank details through our form. We then use these details to complete the required bank documentation and copy your information exactly as you submitted it.

Despite this careful procedure, we have experienced several cases where an international transfer was rejected by the receiving bank. The explanation provided is usually that certain account details are supposedly incorrect or incomplete, even though the information was copied directly from the tenant’s submitted details.

When this happens, the transfer may be returned to us with bank charges deducted. Unfortunately, these charges can be substantial — recently, an international deposit refund was returned with approximately €40–€50 in fees deducted.

Possible recommendation

Many international students open a Belgian bank account during their stay in Belgium.

If this applies to you, we strongly recommend that you keep your Belgian bank account active until you have successfully received the refund of your rental deposit.

This can help avoid:

• rejected international transfers;
• delays in receiving your deposit;
• unnecessary bank charges;
• problems caused by incorrect, incomplete or differently interpreted international banking details.

Once you have received the deposit refund in your Belgian account, you can then transfer the money yourself to your account in your home country or another international account, using the method that is most convenient and cost-effective for you.

Of course, you are free to provide an international bank account for the refund. However, based on previous experience, keeping your Belgian account open until after the deposit refund has been received is the safest and simplest option.

Thank you for your cooperation and for helping us make the deposit refund process as smooth as possible.