Earnest Money in Taiwan Rentals: 定金 vs 斡旋金, and What to Check Before You Pay

You finish a viewing, and the agent or landlord says the place is popular, so pay a deposit and they'll hold it for you. Many people transfer the money on the spot. But what is that money, legally? If you back out, do you get it back? What if they back out?

It starts with a fact most people miss: the word you're using for that money isn't the legal term at all. This guide uses the actual statutes to explain what earnest money does, how it differs from money paid to an agent, a consumer right you may not know about, and what to get in writing before you pay.

Disclaimer: This article is a plain-language summary of the law, not legal advice. Circumstances vary, and for an actual dispute over your rights you should consult a lawyer, a licensed land agent (地政士), or your local government's free legal consultation service. The regulations here were verified on 10 August 2026; laws change, so check the responsible agency's current announcements before relying on any of this. Statutory quotations below are English translations of the Chinese text for readability; the authoritative version is the Chinese original.

1. 訂金 is slang; 定金 is the legal term

Clear up the wording first, because it's the source of all the confusion.

The formal legal term is 定金 (dìngjīn), "earnest money." Civil Code Articles 248 and 249 use exactly these characters throughout, and the code contains no term 訂金 at all.

訂金 is a colloquial word with no independent legal definition. Shop and agency receipts often write 訂金, but the legal effect isn't decided by the characters on the receipt. It's decided by whether the money meets the Civil Code's definition of 定金: money given to secure the performance of a contract.

That points to something important: the label doesn't decide the effect. A receipt saying 訂金 doesn't mean the money isn't legally earnest money; conversely, even a receipt saying 定金 can carry a different effect if the parties agreed otherwise. So what deserves your attention isn't which two characters appear, but whether the purpose and refund conditions are spelled out in writing.

Two common misconceptions worth discarding: that 訂金 is "money you can never get back," and that 訂金 and 定金 are two different systems. Neither is true. The difference is only in the wording; legally, the Civil Code's earnest-money rules govern.

2. What earnest money does: Civil Code Articles 248 and 249

The power of earnest money is that its legal effect begins the moment it changes hands.

Paying it presumes a contract exists

Civil Code Article 248 (translation):

Where one of the contracting parties has received earnest money from the other, the contract is presumed to be constituted.

In other words, once one side accepts earnest money, a contract is presumed to exist. Note it says "presumed," not "deemed," meaning the presumption can be rebutted with contrary evidence, but the burden falls on the party arguing there's no contract. In practice, this makes "I only paid a small deposit, I hadn't actually committed to renting" a weak position.

The cost of backing out: the four scenarios of Article 249

Civil Code Article 249 (translation):

Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, earnest money is subject to the following rules:

1. When the contract is performed, the earnest money shall be returned or credited toward payment.
2. Where the contract cannot be performed for reasons attributable to the party who paid the earnest money, the earnest money may not be reclaimed.
3. Where the contract cannot be performed for reasons attributable to the party who received the earnest money, that party shall return double the earnest money received.
4. Where the contract cannot be performed for reasons attributable to neither party, the earnest money shall be returned.

Translated into a rental situation (tenant pays, landlord receives):

That table is the whole point of earnest money. It cuts both ways: the payer forfeits it by backing out, the receiver pays double by backing out. So it isn't a casual "good-faith" gesture. The moment it's paid, both parties are bound into a commitment that carries a price.

In practice: don't pay earnest money until you've genuinely decided to rent the place and confirmed the terms are right. Once you've paid and then back out, that money is, in principle, gone.

3. 斡旋金: a separate payment made to the agent

If you're searching through a real-estate agent, you may run into another term: 斡旋金. It is not the same as earnest money.

斡旋金 is not a legal term, and the Civil Code has no such instrument. The Keelung City land administration bluntly states that 斡旋金 arose "to circumvent the Civil Code's earnest-money rules" and "has no clear definition and no governing law."

Here's how it works: you're interested in a property, but the price you want differs from the asking price, so you give money to the agent, authorizing them to negotiate on your behalf within an agreed window (commonly 3 to 7 days) and to show your good faith.

The key is the conversion into earnest money: only after the other side accepts your offer does the 斡旋金 typically convert into 定金 by agreement (as the Taipei City land bureau puts it, "when the owner accepts the buyer's offer, that sum becomes earnest money"). Only then does the Civil Code's Articles 248 and 249 apply. Before it converts, 斡旋金 is not earnest money.

As for what happens if negotiation fails: per the Keelung land administration, if the other side backs out within the window, the agency should return the 斡旋金 "in full without interest." But the actual refund conditions and any deductions depend on the 斡旋金 contract and receipt you sign with the agent, so read them before you pay.

So remember the distinction this way: 斡旋金 is money paid to the agent to negotiate, with no statute governing it; 定金 is money securing the main contract, governed by the Civil Code. The two connect only at the moment a successful negotiation converts one into the other.

4. A right you may not know about: the offer letter (要約書)

This section covers information many people don't know but that genuinely helps consumers.

Under the Fair Trade Commission's "Guidance on Real-Estate Agencies," an agent must, before taking 斡旋金, inform you in writing of one thing: that you may choose to pay 斡旋金, or instead use the Ministry of the Interior's standard offer letter (要約書).

The difference:

• 斡旋金: you pay money to the agent up front to negotiate.
• Offer letter (要約書): you pay nothing up front, and simply submit a written statement of the terms you're willing to accept (price, payment terms, and so on).

In other words, the offer letter is a no-money-up-front alternative. And per the guidance, an agent who hands you only a 斡旋金 contract without disclosing the no-payment offer-letter option may, where this is deceptive and affects trading order, violate Article 25 of the Fair Trade Act.

So your right is: when dealing through an agent, you can proactively ask, "Can I use the Ministry of the Interior's offer letter instead, without paying up front?" That choice is one the guidance explicitly gives you.

But here's an honest boundary: this 斡旋金-and-offer-letter framework is designed mainly for property purchases. The Commission's definition of the offer letter refers to "the purchase price," the Ministry's standard offer letter is for buying, and nearly all 斡旋金 disputes and explainers come from resale-home purchases. While the guidance's scope covers real-estate "sale, lease, and exchange," the offer-letter mechanism itself is purchase-centric. When renting through an agent, a standardized 斡旋金 process is less common; paying 定金 directly to hold the place is more typical. So don't transplant the purchase rules onto a rental wholesale. The point still comes back to: is this money earnest money, and what are the refund conditions?

5. Don't confuse them: 定金, 斡旋金, and 押金 are three different payments

Renting involves several separate sums of money, and many disputes come from mixing them up. Quick comparison:

押金 (security deposit) and 定金 (earnest money) are entirely different: the security deposit is paid at signing and returned at the end of the lease, while earnest money is paid before signing to lock in the deal. For the cap on and return of the security deposit, see our complete guide to rental security deposits.

6. A checklist before you transfer

Whatever the other side calls the money, run through this list before you hit send:

1. Confirm the nature of the money. Ask directly: is this 定金 or 斡旋金? They carry different legal effects, and you should know which one you're paying.
2. Get the purpose and refund conditions in writing. What the money is for, when it's returned, when it isn't, any deductions, and how long the hold or negotiation window lasts, all in writing. Verbal promises are nearly worthless in a dispute.
3. Read what the receipt actually says. 定金 or 斡旋金, the amount, the date, and the recipient should all be stated.
4. Confirm who's receiving it. The landlord in person or the agent? Is that person actually the owner or someone authorized to rent it out? How much? Prefer a bank transfer over cash for the record.
5. With an agent, ask about the offer letter first. Proactively ask whether you can use the Ministry of the Interior's offer letter and skip paying up front.
6. Keep every chat record. Negotiations, promises, and refund terms exchanged over LINE or SMS are your evidence if a dispute arises.

A warning: "pay a deposit to hold it" is also a classic scam line

Earnest money is a legitimate mechanism, but precisely because "pay a deposit and I'll hold it for you" sounds so reasonable, it's also one of the most common opening lines in rental scams. The typical move: a fake landlord lures you with below-market rent, then rushes you to transfer a "deposit" before you've seen the place or confirmed they're the real owner, and vanishes once the money lands.

The rule is simple: be highly suspicious of any request to transfer money before a viewing, or before you can confirm the other party's identity. Legitimate earnest money is paid after you've seen the place, decided to rent, and confirmed the person is genuinely the owner. For more on how rental scams work and how to spot them, see our rental scam prevention guide.

The bottom line

• 訂金 is slang; the legal term is 定金 (earnest money). They're the same thing, and the label doesn't decide the effect; the stated purpose and the writing do
• Earnest money is governed by Civil Code Articles 248 and 249: paying it presumes a contract; the tenant forfeits it by backing out (para. 2), the landlord returns double by backing out (para. 3)
• 斡旋金 is not a legal term; it's money to an agent to negotiate, and only becomes earnest money after a deal is agreed
• Through an agent, you have the right to use the no-payment offer letter instead, though this framework is purchase-centric and may not apply to rentals
• 定金, 斡旋金, and 押金 are three different payments; don't mix them up
• Always confirm the nature and refund conditions in writing before paying, and treat "pay a deposit before viewing" as a scam red flag

Every step of viewing, negotiating, and signing involves money, and knowing these terms apart helps you avoid the most common disputes. To start out on the right foot, pair this with our apartment viewing checklist and rental contract checklist.

About this verification: The regulatory content was verified on 10 August 2026 against the Laws and Regulations Database of the Republic of China (Civil Code Articles 248 and 249), the Fair Trade Commission's guidance on real-estate agencies, and public explanations from the Taipei City land bureau and the Keelung City land administration. Laws and administrative rules change, so rely on the responsible agency's current announcements, and consult a professional on any specific dispute.

Rather than touring places one by one and being pressed to "pay a deposit to hold it" on the spot each time, decide your terms first. Set your area, unit type, and budget, and let RentOn notify you when a matching new listing appears, so you have the room to judge calmly instead of paying in a hurry under time pressure.