Agency fees and rental deposit in Luxembourg

Agency fees and rental deposit in Luxembourg

For a new residential lease concluded since 1 August 2024, agency fees are split equally: 50% for the landlord and 50% for the tenant. The official FAQ of the Ministry of Housing specifies that this sharing applies regardless of who engaged the agency and that a contrary clause is without effect.

The rental deposit is another amount. The official guide of Guichet.lu indicates that it cannot exceed two months' rent. The Ministry's FAQ specifies that the cap is calculated on the rent excluding charges.

These rules do not create a legal commission rate. The official sources set the sharing of fees, not a standard commission in euros nor a standard number of months' rent to be charged by the agency.

Official sources consulted on 10 August 2026.

How the two rules work

The agency rule acts on the sharing of an actual amount. If the agreed or invoiced fees are noted as F, the tenant's share is F / 2 and the landlord's share is F / 2. The mechanism is therefore a half-sharing; it does not allow deducing the value of F without reading the mandate, quote, contract or invoice.

The deposit cap acts on another basis. If the monthly rent excluding charges is noted as L, the deposit cannot exceed 2 x L. Advances or flat-rate charges must therefore not be added to L to raise this cap.

The two amounts serve different functions: the commission remunerates the intervention of the agency or third party, while the deposit secures in particular rents, charges and possible damages. Adding them together in a single opaque line prevents properly verifying each rule.

What this changes before signing

In practice, ask for the amounts to be separated in writing:

1. the monthly rent excluding charges;
2. the advances or flat-rate charges;
3. the total amount of agency or third-party fees;
4. the half of these fees charged to you;
5. the amount and form of the rental deposit.

Example without inventing a rate: if the agency communicates a total amount F, compare your line to F / 2. If the lease indicates a rent excluding charges L, compare the requested deposit to 2 x L. This method works with the actual amount in the file and avoids presenting a commercial practice as a rule of law.

Guichet also indicates that the lease must be written and mention in particular the rent excluding charges, the charges and the amount of any deposit. When a deposit is requested, an entry inventory must be signed no later than the day of entry into the premises.

Can a clause put the entire commission on your charge?

For new contracts covered by the reform, no. The official page of the Ministry of Housing indicates that a clause contrary to equal sharing is without effect and presents the entry into force on 1 August 2024.

Keep the lease, the available mandate or quote, the invoice and proof of payment. If the invoiced total is not clear, ask for a written breakdown before paying. This page does not determine whether a particular service or a specific amount is justified; it only explains the verifiable official limits.

Can the deposit exceed two months?

For the residential lease covered here, the official cap is two months' rent excluding charges. An amount bearing another name should not be automatically confused with a deposit: check its basis, its beneficiary and its function in the documents.

The deposit can take several forms. The choice of form changes the conditions for mobilising the funds, but not the cap presented here. If you cannot finance it, open the rent assistance tool for a first orientation, then check the current conditions with the competent administration.

Refund: use the dedicated procedure

The maximum amount at entry and the refund at exit are two different questions. The page rental deposit not returned explains the trigger related to the handover of keys, the refund steps, the formal notice and any penalty. Use this dedicated procedure instead of deducing a deadline from the two-month cap alone.

Preparing your rental file

You can view available rentals, open the financial tools centre and check the rent assistance. These tools help prepare the budget; the lease, the invoice and the official sources remain the documents to check for the actual file.

What this page does not set

It does not give any standard commission amount in euros, any rate in months' rent, or any estimate from ChatHome listings. It does not cover commercial, administrative, industrial, artisanal, professional leases or other exclusions listed by Guichet. It does not replace legal advice on a contract or a disputed invoice.