You let out through a portal. The listing is up, the applicants come in, the contract is signed digitally, and then money has to move.
And then the question arises that few platforms answer clearly: where does the deposit actually sit, who holds it, and when is it released?
It is worth knowing before the keys change hands, because you are the one liable to the tenant for the security.
In short
- Danish law does not require the deposit to sit in a separate account in the tenant's name. As a general rule you may hold it yourself.
- A platform can handle the money in several ways: you receive it directly, the platform collects and passes it on, or the money is held by a third party until an agreed point.
- The three models give you three different risk pictures, especially in the days around move-in.
- Whatever the model, it is your responsibility to the tenant that the security is settled correctly at move-out.
- Ask your platform about the route the money takes before you put up your next listing.
What the law requires, and what it does not
In private tenancies in Denmark you can as a general rule require a deposit and prepaid rent within the limits the Rent Act sets, and there is no general duty to hold the deposit in a separate account in the tenant's name. The money can sit with you, and the tenant has a claim against you, not an account with their own name on it.
That is different from Norway, where a deposit account is required by law. If you read a guide or a platform description talking about a mandatory deposit account, it is either Norwegian, or it is about something else.
It means you choose how the money is handled, and that the choice has to be justifiable. Write the model you choose clearly into the contract, so both you and the tenant know where the money sits and when it is released.
The three models you meet in practice
You receive the money directly. The tenant transfers the deposit and prepaid rent to your account. Simple, and the most common. The risk sits with the tenant, who pays a large amount to a person they have just met, and in the documentation, because you are the one who has to be able to show what came in, when, and what it covered.
The platform collects and passes on. The money goes through the platform's flow and on to you. You get an overview and a receipt, and you should know how long the money sits along the way, and who holds it in the meantime.
The money is held by a third party. The amount sits in an agreed place until an agreed point, typically the handover of keys, and is only released there. It is the model that solves the trust problem at move-in, and it is also the one that requires you to understand the release rules before you say yes.
The third model already exists in the Danish market, among other places as secure payment at move-in on one of the large housing portals. That is worth noting, because it shows that Danish tenants and landlords do in fact ask for that reassurance, even though the law does not require it.
The questions you should ask your platform
Who receives the money, and which account does it sit in along the way?
When is the deposit released, and what triggers the release?
What happens if the move-in is cancelled after the money has been paid?
How is it documented to the tenant what has been paid and when?
Who settles the security at move-out, and what data do I get out of the platform?
What happens to the money if the platform or the intermediary ceases to operate?
If you get clear answers to those six, the model is workable. If you do not, you know what to spend your next email on.
Why some landlords separate the money anyway
You do not have to, and more and more do it anyway. The reasons are practical rather than principled.
Fewer discussions at move-out, because the amount has sat untouched and can be documented krone for krone.
A clean trail if the case ends at the Huslejenævnet, where it is the documentation that decides.
Less bookkeeping, because tenants' money and your own operations are not mixed together.
A better impression on applicants who have heard stories about deposits they never saw again. That is a real competitive advantage in a market where the good applicants can choose.
Against it: the money is then not liquidity along the way. That is an honest trade-off, and it should be made deliberately rather than decided by whatever happened to be the default in a portal.
How Keyhole makes it easier
Keyhole Secure is coming soon in Denmark. It is a digital handling of the deposit, where the amount is held separately rather than sitting with the landlord. In Denmark that is a choice, not a legal requirement, and it makes sense for the landlord who prioritises a clean trail and fewer discussions at move-out.
Keyhole Guarantee solves it from the other side. Here the security is provided as a guarantee instead of cash, so there is no amount to hold and settle. You still decide what security you require, and the tenant remains responsible at move-out.
Keyhole Guarantee can sit inside the flow you already use today, rather than being one more place you have to log in, and Secure will follow when it launches. If you use a platform for your tenancies, feel free to ask them whether they have Keyhole on the list.
Frequently asked questions
Does the deposit have to sit in a separate account in Denmark?
As a general rule no. You may hold it yourself, and you can choose to separate it.
Does the tenant earn interest on the deposit?
Not under Danish law in private tenancies. That is one of the places where Danish and Norwegian practice often get confused.
What if the platform holds the money and the tenant never moves in?
It depends on the platform's terms. Ask about it before you use the model, not when it happens.
Can I require a deposit when I let out through a portal?
Yes. The portal does not change your rights under the Rent Act, it changes the way the money moves.
Is secure payment at move-in the same as a deposit account?
No. Secure payment typically covers the move-in payment itself up to the handover of keys. A deposit account is about the whole tenancy period.
What is easiest if I have several tenancies?
The same model across all of them. It is the mixture of models that creates errors in the bookkeeping and at move-out.
Book a conversation
Talk to Daniel about how deposits and security can be handled in the flow you already use.
Sources
- The Danish Rent Act (retsinformation.dk), deposit, prepaid rent and provision of security
- Huslejenævnet, borger.dk
- Keyhole Secure, product terms
- Keyhole Guarantee, terms and conditions
