The crew checked out weeks ago: why haven't we got the deposit back?

44%of our crew stays over 90 nights carried a deposit (16 of 36)

5%of our crew stays under 28 nights carried one (6 of 133)

2 weeksmedian deposit, measured in nights of accommodation cost (n=31)

8 OctSpain's new signed check-out document for rented homes took effect, 2026

The crew handed back the keys in September. The purchase order is closed, the deposit is still with an owner in another country, and the person who did the check-out has moved to the next job.

Our argument: the deposit on crew accommodation is rarely protected by the tenant rules people have heard of. They were written for someone renting their own home, and a company booking a flat for a crew usually falls outside them. If the return is not agreed before check-in, it gets negotiated after check-out, when the booker has the least leverage.

Why is this coming up now?

Two changes this year show how narrow the tenant rules are. In England, assured periodic tenancies replaced assured shorthold tenancies on 1 May 2026, and a landlord taking a deposit on one must protect it in a government scheme within 30 days. But section 1 of the Housing Act 1988 only makes a tenancy assured if the tenant is an individual. A limited company renting a flat for its crew is outside that.

In Spain, Royal Decree-law 29/2026 has applied since 8 October, after Congress overturned the first version on 2 October. For temporary home lets, the extra guarantee on top of the deposit is now capped at one month's rent, and at the end both sides must sign a document recording the state of the home. If no document is signed, or it lists no defects, the home is presumed handed back in good condition. The decree still needs a vote in Congress, but the idea is right for crews everywhere.

Which crew stays carry a deposit?

Long ones, in a few countries. Of 210 crew stays in our booking system (cancelled stays excluded), 31 carried a security deposit. That was 5% of stays under 28 nights, 22% of stays of 28 to 89 nights and 44% of stays over 90 nights. The median stay with a deposit ran 151 nights; the median stay without one ran 13.

The country matters as much. Eight of nine stays in Finland had a deposit, and so did 6 of 14 in the Netherlands and 6 of 16 in Denmark. None of 59 stays in Spain, France, Belgium, Poland, Czechia and Italy did.

Measured in nights of accommodation cost, the median deposit was about two weeks (13.6 nights, n=31). In Germany, five of six deposits were worth 37 to 45 nights. On five week-long stays in the Netherlands, the deposit was two to almost three times what the week cost.

What do the rules actually say?

Country	Rule for tenants	Return rule in law	Does it reach a crew booking?
England	Deposit protected in a government scheme within 30 days (assured periodic tenancies, since 1 May 2026)	Returned within 10 days of agreeing the amount	Not if the tenant is a company: an assured tenancy needs an individual tenant
Netherlands	Maximum 2 months' basic rent	14 days; 30 days if damage is deducted	Not for use that by its nature is short
Germany	Maximum 3 months' rent excluding service charges, payable in 3 instalments	No day count in the cap rule	Residential leases; the cap is not extended to other leases
Denmark	Maximum 3 months' rent, plus up to 3 months' rent paid in advance	Repaid when the lease ends, after the landlord's claims are settled	Residential flats and single rooms
Finland	A term asking for more than 3 months' rent is void	No day count in the cap rule	Residential leases
Spain	1 month's cash deposit for homes; extra guarantee capped at 1 month on temporary lets	Legal interest runs 1 month after the keys are returned; signed check-out document since 8 Oct 2026	Temporary home lets must state the reason for the stay
France (bail mobilité)	Deposit banned	Not applicable	Furnished lets of 1 to 10 months for people on a temporary work assignment or training

Take the Dutch rule. Since 1 July 2023, a landlord may deduct only four kinds of cost, and administration fees are not one. But the housing section of the Civil Code does not apply to use that by its nature is short, so a crew in a flat for a few weeks may not be covered at all.

Why do crew deposits get stuck?

Because the return depends on three things that crews rarely leave behind: a check-in record, a check-out record and someone who chases. Even in our own records, of 13 stays with a deposit that have already ended, 3 are marked as returned and 4 as awaiting return.

What should bookers do differently?

• Ask at quote stage whether a deposit applies, how much, and in which currency. On stays over 90 nights, assume it will.
• Write the return deadline into the booking. Fourteen days, as in the Dutch rule, is a fair ask.
• Agree what may be deducted: unpaid rent, agreed charges and damage beyond normal wear, not administration fees.
• Get a signed check-out report with photos, as Spain now requires. No report should mean no deductions.
• Name one person who owns the return, so it does not leave with the site team.

Our clients have saved 20-30% by using the correct market for the length of stay. A deposit nobody chases quietly gives part of that back.

Related: the crew damaged the flat: who pays?, why accounts payable rejects crew accommodation invoices and who carries the currency risk on crew accommodation.

FAQ

Is a deposit on a company let protected in England?

Usually not by a deposit scheme. Schemes cover assured periodic tenancies, and a tenancy is only assured if the tenant is an individual. The booking terms decide how a company's deposit is held and returned.

How quickly should a deposit come back?

For Dutch residential tenancies, within 14 days of the end of the lease, or 30 days if damage is deducted. In Spain, legal interest runs on an unreturned deposit one month after the keys are handed back. For crew bookings outside these rules, the deadline is whatever the booking says.

Can a landlord ask for a deposit on a bail mobilité in France?

No. A bail mobilité, a furnished let of 1 to 10 months for people on a temporary work assignment or in training, may not include a deposit.