FINTIBA RENT DEPOSIT GUARANTEE
You don’t need to pay a high rent deposit in Germany
Guarantee replaces your regular rent deposit (max. € 5,000.00)
You just pay a small annual premium instead of a high rent deposit
Easy online completion within only a few minutes
Save your money for the important
As an international student, it is well known that finding a place to live in Germany can turn out to be a major challenge. On top of that, the landlord may also require you to provide a rental deposit before you move in. With the Fintiba Rent Deposit Guarantee, you can keep your money at your own disposal and don’t have to pay any deposit.
Why do I have to pay a rent deposit?
In the case of a privately used rental property like an apartment or house, a landlord may require you to provide a rental deposit worth up to three months’ rent. This is governed by law. The size of the rental deposit is normally stated in the rental contract. The purpose of these funds is to cover any rental debts or claims for damages made against you by your landlord.
What is a rent deposit guarantee?
The rent deposit guarantee is an innovative and secure alternative to paying the usual rent deposit. You can keep your money at your own disposal and do not have to pay a rent deposit. Instead, you pay a small annual premium to the insurance underwriting agency ias*. In return, a guarantee certificate is issued and sent directly to your landlord. With the rent deposit guarantee, you ensure liquidity and financial freedom instead of paying the landlord a deposit of up to three months’ cold rent. If the landlord makes a claim, he will receive the requested money on first demand from the insurance underwriting agency. However, rent deposit guarantee should not be confused with liability insurance. Payments made by the insurance underwriting agency on your behalf in the event of a claim must be repaid by you.
Advantages of the Fintiba Rent Deposit Guarantee
… for you:
… for your landlord:
An example of how the annual premium is calculated assuming that your rent deposit would be € 500.00:
€ 500.00 rent deposit * 5% annual guarantee fee = € 25.00 premium
Still need to convince your landlord of the rent deposit guarantee?
Here you can download a document that explains the whole process and its advantages.
Step by step guidance through the process
Ordering Process
- Enter the amount of your rent deposit
- Enter details of your new accommodation and your landlord
Receiving Documents
- You receive a cover confirmation** right away
- You receive an information sheet for your landlord
Review Process
- If data needs to be adapted, you can edit the information online
- We verify your data and ask you to confirm that they are final
- You confirm your final data and request your guarantee certificate
- If data needs to be adapted, you can edit the information online
Sending Certificate
- Your guarantee certificate will be sent directly to your landlord
** The cover confirmation can be presented to the landlord to proof that your deposit will be covered by the rent deposit guarantee
More information about the Fintiba Rent Deposit Guarantee
Everything you need to know when registering for a rent deposit guarantee with Fintiba
You have to pay an annual contribution, which depends on your required rent deposit amount. The annual contribution, called premium, amounts to only 5% of the deposit amount. For example, instead of paying a rent deposit of € 500, you only need to pay a small fee of € 25 for a rent deposit guarantee.
The premium needs to be paid at once at the start of the contract. Monthly payments are not possible.
Depending on the situation of the customer, the premium will either be deducted from the first monthly payout in Germany or will be deducted from the current account via direct debit by the insurance underwriting agency, ias – Internationale Assekuranz Service GmbH.
No. If the landlord makes a claim, he will receive the requested money on first demand from the insurance underwriting agency ias – Internationale Assekuranz Service GmbH. However, rent deposit guarantee should not be confused with liability insurance. Payments made by ias on your behalf in the event of a claim must be repaid by you.
The certificate is directly sent to your landlord’s address.
- You must be aged 18 or over
- The rental property must be in Germany
- A customer data check must be passed successfully
- The minimum deposit sum of € 500 must be reached
- The deposit is not above the maximum guaranteed sum of € 5,000
The duration of the rent deposit guarantee is one year. If you want to extend the guarantee, you can simply do so in the Fintiba App. If you should at some point permanently live and be registered in Germany, then the contract can also run continuously.
With the rent deposit gurantee, the landlord can claim the damage to the insurance underwriting agency ias – Internationale Assekuranz Service GmbH. The requested amount will then be paid up to the maximum amount of the agreed rental deposit (max. € 5,000). You are then required to pay back the equivalent amount to ias.
Yes. The rent deposit guatantee settles rent or repair debts to the landlord up to the amount of your deposit (max. € 5,000). Please be aware that in the event of a claim, the insurance underwriting agency ias – Internationale Assekuranz Service GmbH will only pay the landlord in advance. You are then obliged to pay back the full amount of the payment that was made to ias.
Legally, the landlord is not obliged to accept the rent deposit gurantee and can insist on another type of deposit. If you face any problems with your landlord, ias – Internationale Assekuranz Service GmbH will gladly help and support you.
The rent deposit gurantee takes effect from the day on which your official guarantee certificate is sent out.
The rent deposit guarantee ends when the rental agreement has been terminated and the landlord no longer asserts any claims arising from the rental relationship. The landlord sends the guarantee certificate back to the insurance underwriting agency ias – Internationale Assekuranz Service GmbH or hands it over to you. In the latter case, you need to return the certificate to ias.
No, the annual contribution is due for providing the rent deposit guarantee. The rent deposit will not be paid off. You pay a premium of five percent (5%) of your deposit amount for the guarantee.
If you move and also want to secure the new apartment with a rent deposit guarantee, the landlord of your old accommodation needs to send the certificate back to the insurance underwriting agency ias – Internationale Assekuranz Service GmbH via post. For the new apartment, you simply submit a new application online.
If you have not found an accommodation yet but want to make sure that the rent deposit will be covered, you can already secure a cover confirmation. You simply need to apply for the rent deposit guarantee and tell us the maximum deposit amount you would be willing to provide. As soon as you know the accommodation details and to whom you need to provide the deposit, you can add the required data. In case you are asked to provide a deposit that is lower than the maximum amount you were willing to provide, we will of course return the difference.
The rent deposit guarantee can be cancelled by sending the original version of the guarantee certificate back to the insurance underwriting agency ias – Internationale Assekuranz Service GmbH. In order to be exempted from all payment obligations, simply send it to the following address: Kleiner Ort 1, 28357 Bremen, Germany. Please be aware that the duration of the contract is 12 months. If you cancel the rent deposit guarantee before the end of this contract, the minimum annual fee will still apply, and you will not be reimbursed by ias.
If the landlord makes a claim, he will receive the requested money on first request from the insurance underwriting agency ias – Internationale Assekuranz Service GmbH. The maximum sum that can be claimed is three months’ cold rent (max. € 5,000). The money paid out will then be invoiced by ias to you and you need to pay it back to ias.
Any damage will be recorded in the handover protocol. In the case of claims of the landlord against you, either both parties agree without consulting the insurance underwriting agency ias – Internationale Assekuranz Service GmbH, or the landlord reports the claim to ias. In this case, the landlord receives the requested money on first request from ias. The maximum sum that can be requested is three months’ cold rent (max. € 5,000). The money paid out will then be invoiced by ias to you and you need to pay it back to ias.
The insurer that is providing the rent deposit guarantee is Builders Direct S.A., 253, rue de Beggen, L-1221 Luxembourg. They are represented by our partner, the insurance underwriting agency ias – internationale Assekuranz-Service GmbH, Kleiner Ort 1, Germany, 28357 Bremen – A company with more than 30 years of experience and the philosophy to take up every insurance challenge individually.