LenaCars

Payment and assurance

Read the deposit before handover day

A deposit is not rent. The amount, the cap, and the return deadline are in the section below.

Send your deposit question

When is the deposit return completed?

The Regulation on the Rental of Motor Vehicles (Official Gazette, 15 August 2026, issue 33341, Article 14) takes effect on 1 January 2027. For a consumer rental of 29 days or less, the deposit may be at most 3 days' rent on a 1–6 day rental, and at most 7 days' rent on a 7–29 day rental. Return procedures are completed within seven days after the contract ends and the vehicle is returned. Cases the Regulation states separately fall outside that period. It is not counted in business days, and it is not the time the bank takes to restore a card limit. A deduction is allowed only for items approved in the contract and disclosed before collection: unpaid rent, late return, mileage overrun, tolls or rule penalties that appear later, energy refill, and damage outside casco or the operator guarantee caused by the renter's fault. A cheque, promissory note, or guarantee letter cannot be taken as a deposit. Scratches not easily seen at handover, and ordinary wear, cannot be deducted. Rentals of 30 days or more, and short-term rentals where the renter is not a consumer, are outside this cap and deadline; the amount then appears in the contract.

  1. 1

    Find the amount on the record

    Use the figure shown on the reservation or the contract.

  2. 2

    Separate the security at handover

    The block or charge should appear on a slip separate from the rent payment.

  3. 3

    Close the return note

    Damage, fuel, and mileage should be written on the return document.

  4. 4

    Watch the return deadline

    On rentals in scope, count from the return date. Check the card limit separately.

Pages that complete this process

Frequently asked questions

Deadline, scope, and deductions.

Is the deposit the same as rent?
No. Rent pays for the service. The deposit is temporary security for defined obligations, and on many bookings it is held as a card pre-authorization.
Who does the seven-day return apply to, and from when?
From 1 January 2027, it applies to consumer rentals of 29 days or less. The period is seven days after the vehicle is returned. Rentals of 30 days or more, and rentals where the renter is not a consumer, are outside the scope. Card-limit reflection still depends on the bank.
What can be deducted?
Only items approved in the contract and disclosed before collection: unpaid rent, late return, mileage overrun, later tolls and rule penalties, energy refill, and damage outside the guarantee caused by the renter's fault. Ordinary wear and scratches not easily seen at handover cannot be deducted.