Reader question: What written information can I request about the investment of my cash deposit?
You paid the deposit when you moved in and continue to live in the flat. Now you want to know how the money is invested. You do not need to announce an inspection or already be engaged in a dispute over damage for that. The appropriate question concerns the whereabouts of an existing security.
Defining the claim correctly
§ 16b paragraph 1 MRG obliges the landlord, in the case of a deposit handed over as a sum of money, to invest it in a profit-bearing manner and, on request, to provide written information about it. A form of investment other than a savings book is only permissible under the conditions stated there: in particular an equally good interest rate and equally high security as a savings deposit, as well as separation from the landlord’s assets and preferential treatment in insolvency. [MRG16b]
The provision also belongs to the partial application according to § 1 paragraph 4. But that does not mean that every conceivable Austrian form of housing is covered. For full exemptions the framework must be examined separately. An early contract start does not by itself exclude the rule; § 49f contains the transitional provision. [MRG1] [MRG49f]
Link the enquiry to your own payment records
Our editorial recommendation: first search for the agreement and the proof of payment. Note the amount, date, recipient and any later top-ups. Was an actual savings book handed over or was money transferred? This distinction should be included in the question.
Then request in writing information about the investment of your specifically designated cash deposit. A sentence such as “Please inform me in writing about the investment of the deposit paid on … for flat …” describes the task clearly. The sentence is an editorial wording example, not a vetted legal template.
A neutral request for feedback makes processing easier. State a response deadline explicitly as a date you propose; do not invent a statutory seven- or fourteen-day deadline from it.
What an answer may still leave open
“The deposit is recorded with us” initially describes an entry in the accounts. The concrete investment is not thereby explained. Ask which form is used and to which deposit amount the information refers. For an alternative investment its statutory characteristics are relevant; any arbitrary reference to good returns does not answer this.
Do not demand unnecessary data about other tenants for your orientation. If a collective presentation is provided, ask for an understandable allocation of your amount. Whether the specific construction satisfies legal requirements can be assessed on the basis of its actual content, not the length of a bank name.
A hypothetical reconciliation
Nora first transferred 2.400 euros and later agreed an additional 300 euros. The management’s reply names only the first amount. Nora therefore specifically asks about the missing additional amount and its investment. She treats the discrepancy as an open question and does not yet allege any misappropriation.
After the corrected information she files the receipts and the reply together. The amounts mentioned are entirely fictitious. They illustrate why a clear initial account is more useful than a blanket enquiry about “my money”.
If the information does not materialise
Remind them with reference to the first enquiry and save both messages. If investment or allocation remain unclear, bring the contract, proofs of payment and the replies to housing legal advice. A missing piece of information is not resolved by you unilaterally offsetting the next rent against the deposit. This article does not assess specific rights of set-off or enforcement; its outcome is a comprehensible information file.