“Deposit: 6 months.” Those three words, written into thousands of Cameroonian leases, are behind a good share of end-of-tenancy disputes. The tenant leaves expecting to get six months’ rent back. The landlord considers it was an advance, used up long ago. Both are acting in good faith, and neither can prove what was agreed.
Here is how to avoid that scenario, whether you are the landlord or the tenant.
Deposit and advance rent: two different things
This is the starting point, and the most costly confusion on the market.
The deposit (also called a security deposit) is a sum held in trust. It pays no rent. It serves as a guarantee: if the tenant leaves damage or unpaid rent, the landlord can recover the cost from it. Otherwise, it is returned at the end of the lease.
Advance rent is an early payment. It settles months of rent ahead of time. It is not returned: it is used up, month after month.
A tenant who pays “one year” upfront may in fact be paying three months’ deposit and nine months’ advance rent. If the contract doesn’t say so, nobody will know two years from now.
How much should you ask?
There is no single amount that applies to every rental. In practice, amounts vary widely depending on the city, the neighbourhood, the type of property and the tenant’s profile: a student room does not call for the same guarantee as a villa let to a company.
A few common-sense guidelines for landlords:
- the deposit should cover a real risk: a few months’ rent is generally enough to cover ordinary damage and unpaid rent while you take action;
- an excessive deposit drives away good tenants, the ones who have a choice;
- advance rent does not replace the deposit: once used up, it protects you from nothing.
Whatever amount you settle on, what matters is that it is written into the contract, separately from the advance rent.
What the contract should say
Four clauses are enough to prevent most disputes:
- The deposit amount, in figures and in words.
- The advance rent amount, separately, with the period it covers (for example “rent from January to June”).
- What the deposit guarantees: damage beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid rent and charges.
- The time limit for returning it after the keys are handed back and the move-out inventory is done.
Add that the deposit cannot be used to pay the last month’s rent: it is a common temptation on the tenant’s side, and it deprives the landlord of their guarantee at the very moment they need it most.
Our lease agreement template includes these clauses.
The inspection report: without it, the deposit protects nothing
A landlord who wants to withhold part of the deposit must prove the damage, and prove that it was not there at move-in. Without a move-in inspection report, that is almost impossible.
A good inspection report means:
- room by room: walls, floors, ceilings, doors, windows, bathroom fittings;
- water and electricity meter readings;
- plenty of dated photos;
- both parties’ signatures, on the day the keys are handed over.
At move-out, you go through exactly the same exercise, and compare.
What can be withheld at move-out?
The landlord may withhold from the deposit:
- unpaid rent and charges;
- the cost of repairing damage recorded in the move-out inventory and absent at move-in, with supporting evidence (a quote or an invoice).
They may not withhold:
- normal wear and tear: paint that has faded after several years, aged grout, a worn floor;
- improvement works they want to carry out anyway;
- flat-rate amounts with no justification.
Every deduction must be explained to the tenant in writing, with supporting documents. The balance is returned within the time limit set in the contract.
For tenants: how to get your deposit back
- Insist on a receipt or a clause in the lease when you pay the deposit.
- Do the move-in inventory with photos, and keep a copy.
- Keep all your rent receipts: they prove you are up to date.
- Give your notice in writing, within the agreed period.
- Leave the place clean, and do the move-out inventory with the landlord present.
With these documents, an unjustified deduction becomes very hard to defend.
What an app changes
Most deposit disputes come down to a lack of records: a deposit paid in cash without a receipt, rent payments nobody can remember, an inspection report that can’t be found.
With Bailor Pro, every lease keeps its amounts, its full payment history and the receipts issued in one place. At move-out, you see immediately what has been paid and what is still owed — and the tenant sees it too in the Bailor app. A conversation about the deposit then starts from facts, not memories.
For all the rules of renting in Cameroon, read the complete guide to rental management.