I just read my apartment rental agreement and noticed my landlord requires that I hand over my passport in return for the key to the apartment. Is this common practice? Should I do it?

s

I have never heard of this and find it hard to believe; did he just want to verify info or have a copy? I would never give up my passport; what if an emergency arose and you had to leave suddenly as has happened to me in years past?

I never heard of that, and I'm sure it's pretty much illegal. As long as you have paid for your accomodation, you can have the key. Tell him to join the force if he likes to fondle passports.

I agree with David that paying for the rental is what secures access to the apartment, not your landlord holding your passport hostage. If s/he is that paranoid, I immediately wonder what other "gotchas" you might be subjected to before/during your stay.

Not to mention, it opens you to a logistical/legal nightmare if you need your passport as a form of ID in some cases. There are two rather long threads about this topic in the Italy forum about how it is required by law in Italy for travelers to carry their passport with them at all times. The same is true of French law requiring travelers to carry their passports at all times.

Never been asked to hand over passports anywhere.
We paid cash on arrival for our apartment and that was it.

Elly

I have never been asked in any country to surrender my passport to a landlord. The only place I was asked to see it was italy, where apparently they have to write down your passport number for some forms -- it was universal there. In France I never had to prove anything, just pay the euros. If I was asked to give anyone my passport to hold, I would cancel and move on.