Housing
Ending a lease, getting a deposit back, rent increases and repairs.
Germany
All Germany topics →- German rent increase: consent, refuse or objectRegistered mail is not required: if you do not consent, you need not send anything.
- Reclaim your rental deposit in Germany: set a deadline and prove it arrivedRegistered mail is not required but advised: if you set the landlord a deadline, you need proof the demand arrived to claim interest and costs.
France
All France topics →- Give notice on a French rental by registered letter with acknowledgement of receiptFrench law accepts a tenant's notice by LRAR, by a commissaire de justice or by hand against a receipt.
- French rental deposit not returned: deadline, penalty and formal noticeA French landlord returns the deposit within 1 month if the check-out matches, otherwise 2 months after the keys.
- Landlord's notice in France: registered letter with acknowledgement of receiptA French landlord gives notice by LRAR, commissaire de justice or by hand.
Spain
All Spain topics →- Ending a Spanish rental contract: 30 days' notice and how to prove itAfter six months you can leave a Spanish rental with 30 days' notice to the landlord.
- Write to a Spanish community of owners from abroad by carta certificadaGive the secretary your address for notices, or object to a decision within 30 calendar days, by a method that proves receipt.
- Reclaim your rental deposit in Spain: deadline, interest and how to claimIf a Spanish landlord keeps your deposit for more than a month after you hand back the keys, interest is due.
- Landlord's notice not to renew a Spanish lease: deadlines and how to serve itA Spanish landlord gives four months' notice, six for end dates after 15 November 2026.
- Ask your Spanish landlord for repairs: written demand and a fifteen-day deadlineSince October 2026 a Spanish landlord has fifteen calendar days from receiving your written repair demand with a quote.
- Demanding unpaid rent in Spain: why the method and the 30 days matterIf a Spanish landlord demands payment by a reliable means 30 days before suing, the tenant can no longer stop the eviction by paying in court.
Belgium
All Belgium topics →Switzerland
All Switzerland topics →- End a Swiss lease as a landlordRegistered mail is recommended, not required. What counts is the canton's official form, signed by hand.
- End a Swiss lease as a tenantRegistered mail is recommended, not required. The notice must be in writing and signed by hand.
- Ask for a rent reduction in SwitzerlandRegistered mail is not required, but the federal housing office advises it.
United Kingdom
All United Kingdom topics →United States
All United States topics →Netherlands
All Netherlands topics →- End a Dutch rental by registered letterDutch law says a tenant ends a residential lease by registered letter or bailiff (art. 7:271).
- End a Dutch lease as a landlordA Dutch landlord ends a residential lease by registered letter or bailiff, with a legal ground and three to six months' notice.
- Send a Dutch rent increase reminder letterIf a Dutch tenant neither objects to a rent increase nor pays it, the landlord sends the proposal again by registered mail within three months.