There are several possible forms for the deposit:

1. Cash deposit:
According to § 550b Abs.2 it can be agreed that the tenant hands over the deposit in cash or wires the amount in question. The landlord must seperate the money from his belongings and deposit it into a seperate current account which yields at least the standard interest for deposits. The disadvantage for the landlord is that there is virtually no security that no surprise withdrawal through the landlord will occur.

2. Pawned savings book:
A savings book under the tenants name is opened with a bank, containing the deposit. The savings book is then handed over to the landlord. Banks will have necessary documents for the detailed procedure on hand. The deposit will yield interest in this form as well the tenant however is secured against the above mentioned 'surprise withdrawals' if and only if the bank documents require that the tenant is informed before any withdrawals can be made.

3. Bank guarantee:
The tenant gives a bank guarantee issued by his bank in which the institut guarantees to stand in for possible monetary demands up to the amount that forms the deposit. This form of guarantee however usually induces fees and reduces the credit line of the tenant. Another negative aspect is that this form will not yield any interest.

4. Joint account:
This way of deposit is rather uncommon, since the landlord can not gain access to the deposit easily. Only landlord and tenant jointly will be able to access the deposit.