Tenancy law/ Rental law / Landlord and tenant law in Amsterdam

Lawyer Dutch Tenancy law/ Rental law / Landlord and tenant law in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Our Amsterdam lawyer is specialized in all matters regarding Dutch Tenancy Law. We act for landlords and tenants. Our attorneys have considerable experience representing both sides of these disputes. Our expertise in The Netherlands ranges from conflicts between landlords and tenants to conflicts with the (Amsterdam) municipality (e.g. regarding AirBnB). We specialise in tenant eviction and rent arrear problems. The lawyers of our Dutch firm provide legal aid to tenants and landlords in matters regarding homes (houses & apartments) and business properties. We specialise in landlord and tenant law for businesses and individuals alike. Our solicitor can assist with all legal aspects of property portfolio management, from drafting commercial property lease agreements or advising on residential tenancy agreements.

Lease

Lease is a contract between you and your landlord. Our Amsterdam lawyer has experience and in-depth knowledge of landlord tenant law in matters regarding:

• Drafting, checking and analysing Dutch rental agreements;
• Advising on matters regarding Bed & Breakfasts, AirBnB and other manners of renting out your (rental)house;
• Advise and litigation in matters regarding the termination or eviction;
• Security Deposit;
• Litigation in all matters regarding rent.

A more detailed overview can be found in the following paragraphs.

Dutch Tenancy lawyer: housing (houses & apartments)

We provide guidance for landlords and tenants on all housing (houses & apartments) issues. Tenants of houses & apartments gain extensive protection from the Dutch civil code. At the same time tenants have many obligations towards both their landlords and their neighbours. These obligations are an outflow of Dutch law, the habit and the terms of the rentalcontract. Therefore, Rentalcontracts often contain a lot of rules which impact the rights and dutiess of a tenant. In our experience both landlords and tenants are often insufficiently aware of their rights and obligations.

This lack of awareness frequently results in (unnecessary) conflicts.

Landlord: houses and apartments

The tenancy agreement is a contract between you and your landlord. It may be written or verbal. As a landlord you might be confronted with a wide range of issues either with your tenant(s) or the municipality. E.g. a tenant might not pay his/her rent in time or the tenant might claim that you are obliged to fix defects in the property. Issues with the municipality will usually arise when you rent out your property (as a Bed & Breakfast or through AirBnB).

Issues with your tenant

As a landlord the following issues and questions might arise with your tenant:

• My tenant does not pay rent (in time); the tenant wants to terminate the rental agreement. What rules apply to termination of the rentalagreement.
• I want to evict my tenant as quickly as possible. What steps should I take?
• My tenant causes nuisance,
• The tenant caused damages to the premises or has sublet the property without my permission;
• The tenant does not use the house as his/her (main) home or has created a weedplantation in the home;
• I want to renovate the property, but the tenant does not want to comply;
• I want to increase the rent, but the tenant does not agree with my offer. What can I do?

Duties as a landlord

• The tenant claims that the property has defects/problems. Am I obliged to fix these defects?
•  The tenant claims that the problems/defects have caused damage to his belongings. Am I obliged to reimburse his/her damages?

Issues with the (Amsterdam) municipality (and other third parties)

• I want to rent out (part of) my house as a Bed & Breakfast or through AirBnB. Am I allowed to do this? Or do I require a permit?
• The municipality has fined me because I have rented out (part of) my house as a Bed & Breakfast or through AirBnB. What can I do?

Tenant: Houses and apartments

As a tenant you might be confronted with a wide array of problems. These include problems which (the landlord claims) have been caused by you (e.g. not paying rent or subletting the home) or problems which are caused by landlord. In our experience landlords are often unwilling to uphold their duties while some landlords actively act in disaccord with the rights of the tenant for example by harassing them.

Amsterdam tenancy law lawyers

Our Amsterdam tenancy law-lawyers have provided legal aid to tenants in regards to a comprehensive variety of issues. These issues include (among others):

• My landlord wants to terminate the rental agreement.
• I pay too much rent;
• The landlord wants to evict me, because he claims:

1. that I did not pay rent (in time).
2. that I caused nuisance
3. that I sublet the property
4. that I have not used the property as my (main) home.

• I have one or several defects/problems in my home, but the landlord refuses to fix these defects.
• There is a defect/problem in my home which has caused damages to my belongings.
• My neighbour (resident or company) causes severe nuisance, but my landlord refuses to solve this problem.

Business properties

In Dutch law business properties are divided into two categories. A property is not categorized on its own merits, but the categorization depends on the type of company which currently resides in the property.

Dutch lawyer advises on 290-business property

The first category is often qualified as a 290-business property. These are properties which are (relatively easily) accessible to the general public and can be qualified as one of the following business types:

• Retail;
• Restaurant or café;
• Takeaway business;
• Craft services;Hotel;
• Camping.

Advice on Dutch 230-business property

Business properties which cannot be qualified as a 290-business property are qualified as a 230-business property. Properties which are commonly qualified as a 230-business property include:

• Offices;
• Factories;
• Storages.

It is not always easy to qualify a property as 290- or a 230-business property while it is also possible that different areas of a rented ‘unit’ are qualified in different categories.

290-business properties

The specific location of a 290-business property is deemed to be of great importance to the success of a 290-business. Therefore the Dutch legislator has granted these businesses more protection, mainly in regards to termination of the agreement, than their 230-business counterparts.

Issues in regards to 290-business properties

A lot of issues regarding 290-business properties are related to the increase/decrease of the rental price and the termination or annulment of the rental agreement.

Rental contracts in The Netherlands

In regards to business properties parties have quite some freedom to deviate from the law which makes the contents of the rental agreement even more important. E.g. in the contract can be determined that the repair of defects is solely the responsibility of the tenant.

At the same time the duration of the rental agreement is constricted by strict laws. E.g. it is not possible, without permission from the court, to agree to a rental agreement longer than 2 years and shorter than 5 year. If parties agree on a rentalterm longer than 2 years, but shorter than 5 the rental term is automatically increased to 5 years.

Check the rentalcontract

Therefore it is recommended to request a lawyer to draft or check the rentalcontract. Our Amsterdam lawyers usually provide these services against fixed prices. The fixed price depends on the extensiveness of the contract.

Termination of the rental agreement in The Netherlands

The Dutch civil code assumes that parties agree on a minimum rental period of 5 years with an extension for another 5 years. After this ten year period the agreement is continued as a contract for a undertermined period, unless parties agree on a new fixed rental term.
There are several (legal) exemptions to this aforementioned assumption:

– It is possible to agree on a rental term with a maximum of two years.
– The first rental term may be longer than 5 years. In this case the total ‘fixed rental term’ is still 10 years. E.g. the first rental period lasts 7 years. After these 7 years the rental agreement is increased by 3 years.
– It is also possible to deviate from the aforementioned rules with permission of the court.

Termination of a Dutch rental-agreement at the end of the first period

Both parties can terminate the rental-agreement at the end of the first period with due observance of a one year notice period. The tenant can terminate the rentalagreement without a specific reason. The landlord cannot terminate one of the contracts unless one of the following situations is applicable:

1. The tenant has not acted as a ‘good tenant’.
2. The landlord, or one of his close relatives, urgently needs the usage of the property. This does not include sale of the property.
3. The landlord wants to renovate the property and this is not possible with continuation of the rental agreement.

Termination of a Dutch rental-agreement at the end of the ten year period

If neither of the parties terminates the contract at the end of the first term the rental agreement is continued until a total rental term of ten years is reached. Once the rental agreement has been continued parties cannot terminate the contract anymore until the end of the second term has been reached. At the end of the ten year period the landlord can terminate the contract at any time – with a one year notice – if one of the situations mentioned under 1-6 is applicable.

4. The tenant does not agree with a reasonable offer of the landlord regarding a new contract. This new contract should encompass more than (solely) a different rent.
5. The government has decided on a new destination for the area in which the property resides and the landlord wants to comply to the aforementioned new destination.
6. The termination of the contract is of bigger importance to the landlord than the continuation of the rental agreement is of importance to the tenant. The judge will weigh each parties’ interests against each other.

Termination of a Dutch rental-agreement: indefinite duration

Once the end of the 10 year rental term has been reached the agreement is continued for an indefinite duration. During this period both parties can end the contract at any given time with due observance of a one year notice period. As at the end of the 10 year rental term the landlord is only allowed to terminate the contract if one of the situations mentioned under 1-6 has arisen.

Rent increase/decrease in The Netherlands

The rental price of a 290-businessproperty can be altered on request of either party. Such a request can only be made when the fixed rental term has ended. If the rental agreement has an indefinite duration the rent can be altered once every 5 years.

In case that one of the parties wants the price to be increased/reduced they are required to make a formal, written, offer to their opposing party. If parties do not agree on an altered price they are obliged to contact an independent advisor before they can request the court to decide on this matter.

The advisor will advise on a ‘reasonable price’ which is based on the average price for comparable business properties in the same area. If parties cannot agree on an advisor or if one of the parties disregards the advise a request to the court can be made. The decision of the court will be based on the reports from one or multiple advisors.

Other rental problems in The Netherlands

Besides the aforementioned problems several other issues might arise in regards to 290-business properties. These problems might include:

• Issues regarding the repair of defects and other problems.
• Damages which were caused because of defects in the property.
• Problems in regards to the behaviour of the tenant (e.g. not paying rent, sublet)
• A request from the tenant to let a third party take his place as tenant (‘indeplaatsstelling’).

230-business properties

230-business properties are bound by the least amount of rules. Therefore parties have a lot of freedom to decide which rules apply to their rental agreement. Therefore it is recommended to request a tenancylaw-specialist to draft or check your rental contract.

Evictionprotection: 230-businesscontracts end automatically

A tenant of a 230-businessproperty has little protection from the Dutch law. The landlord can end the contract – once the agreed upon term has ended – without a specific reason. However, tenants of these kind of business properties are not fully unprotected against eviction.

Once the landlord has announced that the rental agreement will end and the tenant needs to evict the premises the tenant can invoke his ‘evictionprotection’ (7:230a DCC). By Dutch law the tenant is granted an ‘evictionprotection’ of two months. This means that the tenant can remain in the property for two months after the agreement has ended.

This period can be increased by another 10 months. The tenant has to request the court to grant him a lengthier ‘evictionprotection’. Such a request can be made a total of three times, potentially granting the tenant ‘evictionprotection’ for a total of three years.

The request is granted if the interests of the tenant to be able to stay in the property are greater than the interests on the side of the landlord. The request to gain ‘evictionprotection’ is bound to strict terms. Once the term has ended the chance to gain extra ‘evictionprotection’ is lost. Therefore it is recommended to contact our Dutch lawyer as quickly as possible once the landlord has informed you that the agreement will end.

Other Dutch rental issues

In regards to 230-business properties several other issues might arise including:

– Increase of the rent;
– Problems in regards to the behaviour of the tenant (e.g. not paying rent, sublet).
– Issues regarding defects such as leakage and vermin.
– Damages which are caused by defects/problems of the property.
– Damages to the property.

Legal advice on Dutch Tenancy law by Amsterdam lawyer / Rental law / Landlord and tenant law in Amsterdam, The Netherlands: contact our Landlord & Tenant Dispute Solicitors

Our landlord-tenant lawyers can help by negotiating, drafting and reviewing leases and lease provisions. If you need advise regarding Dutch tenancy law or if you are already in a legal conflict, contact one of our Amsterdam tenancy law-specialists. Our lawyers in Amsterdam are experienced and can provide legal aid to you in all matters regarding tenancy law in The Netherlands.

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