According to the relevant theories of civil law, deposits have the following legal characteristics:
1. Deposit is secondary.
The deposit exists with the existence of the contract and disappears with the elimination of the contract.
2. The establishment of the deposit is feasible.
The deposit is agreed by the parties to the contract, but in the absence of actual payment of the deposit, the deposit guarantee can only be established if the parties agree on the deposit. Only when the parties to the contract actually pay the deposit to the other party can the deposit be established.
The deposit has been paid in advance.
Only after the contract is established and delivered can it be fulfilled, so as to play the role of guarantee. Therefore, the deposit is prepaid.
4. The deposit has double guarantee.
That is, the creditor's rights of both parties to the contract are guaranteed at the same time. In other words, if the party paying the deposit fails to perform the debt, the deposit will be lost; If the party who receives the deposit fails to perform the debt, it shall double the deposit.