There are lots of things to consider when you lease accommodation. This consists of making sure you are not paying excessive in terms of rent, a deposit or service costs. The Landlords (Good Practices) Act entered into force on 1 July 2023. This act introduced new guidelines and updated some old rules. It is necessary to know your rights and responsibilities. So follow this step-by-step strategy when you rent accommodation.

Step 1: examine just how much the lease, deposit, service costs and mediation charges are

Rent

Check whether the lodging you want to rent is classified as social housing or if it is private-sector leasing. This is a crucial distinction, because different rights and commitments apply to each type. If you are going to be leasing lodging in 2024 and the basic lease is EUR879.66 or less, the accommodation is thought about to be social housing. Social housing has a lease ceiling, which is computed utilizing a points system. If you lease lodging in 2024 and the basic lease is above EUR879.66, the lodging is considered to be a private-sector rental. There is no lease ceiling for private-sector lodging.

Check whether the rent matches the quality of the lodging by running the Rent Check.

Rent Check self-contained lodgings
Rent Check shared lodgings

If you are paying excessive, ask your proprietor to decrease the lease. If you can't reach an arrangement with your proprietor, get in touch with the lease tribunal (Huurcommissie).

Please note: if you are residing in a private-sector rental, ask the rent tribunal to examine your starting rent within 6 months of your very first payment. If you live in social housing, you can ask the lease tribunal to check the lease you are paying at any time.

In some towns, property owners require a rental permit to be able to rent accommodation. Conditions might be attached to the permit, such as how much the rent can be. If this holds true, you can also ask the town to evaluate your lease.

Deposit

For occupancy contracts dated 1 July 2023 onwards, the maximum deposit a property manager can charge is two months' standard rent. When the occupancy arrangement has ended, you will in concept get your deposit back within 14 days. But if you still owe your proprietor cash, they can subtract this from your deposit. In that case they must pay back the remaining deposit within 30 days.

Your landlord can just keep your deposit to cover the following:

- overdue lease;
- service expenses;
- damage to the accommodation that the renter should cover;
- energy performance charge (in Dutch: energieprestatievergoeding, EPV).

Service costs

Your landlord can just charge you real service costs that have actually been sustained. They can not charge more and keep the distinction.

Service costs consist of:

- cleaning up expenses;
- costs of lighting communal areas;
- tasks performed by a caretaker.

Gas, water and electricity do not fall under service expenses. You pay these expenses individually.

You pay service expenses monthly, on top of the standard lease. Each year your proprietor will supply you with an introduction of the service costs charged to you. This will reveal you:

- which costs your proprietor has sustained;
- just how much of these expenses you have actually paid;
- whether you have actually paid too much or too little;
- whether you will get refund or require to pay more.

If you have actually not gotten an introduction of service expenses, or if the introduction is incorrect, call the rent tribunal or your town.

Mediation fees might only be charged to one celebration

If your property owner uses a rental firm, your proprietor pays the mediation charges. The firm can not ask you to pay mediation costs too. Mediation fees are sometimes called administration, contract or agency fees. If you yourself use a company or intermediary to discover accommodation, you will have to pay their charges yourself.

Step 2: inspect your tenancy agreement and the details supplied by your landlord

Tenancy contracts dated 1 July 2023 onwards should remain in composing. If you make oral arrangements with your proprietor, your landlord needs to validate these contracts in composing.
Your proprietor needs to also offer you with details in blogging about:

- how the lodging can be used;
- when your proprietor can enter the lodging (just with your permission, unless there is an emergency);.
- the various kinds of occupancy arrangement and the associated occupant protection and rental cost protection;.
- what you can do if the accommodation needs repair;.
- who you can contact if you have questions about your accommodation;.
- who you can contact if you can't solve a concern with your landlord (local reporting office, rent tribunal or district court);.
- how much you require to pay as a deposit and how it will be returned;.
- service costs (an introduction of service expenses charged should be provided every year).

If your tenancy agreement began before 1 July 2023, you will receive this additional info by 30 June 2024 at the current.

Extra information for European labour migrants

If you have actually come from a European nation to temporarily work in the Netherlands, and your company provides you with accommodation, your employer needs to give you information about your lodging in a language you understand. This does not use to the tenancy contract, however. The occupancy contract can be in Dutch.

Your tenancy contract must likewise be separate from your work agreement. This indicates that you do not require to move out of the lodging if your employment ends. This only applies to tenancy agreements dated 1 July 2023 or later.

Step 3: inspect if you are entitled to housing benefit

You might be entitled to housing benefit. You can check this on toeslagen.nl.

Step 4: do something about it if you can not deal with a concern with your landlord

If you have an issue with your property owner and can't fix it, there are numerous strategies you can take.

Involve the rent tribunal

If you are leasing social housing, and you do not concur with the amount of rent you are paying, a rent increase or the level of maintenance, you can get in touch with the rental tribunal.

If you lease private-sector lodging, and disagree with your property manager's annual rent boost, or a lease boost following enhancements to your lodging, call the lease tribunal. You can likewise ask the rent tribunal to examine your beginning rent. You should do this within six months of the start of the tenancy.

The rent tribunal is an independent and unbiased disagreement arbitrator. Any choices it takes are legally binding for both renters and property managers. If you can not take the dispute to the lease tribunal, you can take it to the district court.

Reporting an issue to the municipality

As of 1 January 2024, every municipality has a reporting workplace where tenants and those looking for lodging can report problems with landlords.

If a property manager breaches one of the guidelines in the Landlords (Good Practices) Act, the municipality must do something about it. Here are some examples. A proprietor is in breach of the rules if they:

- do not provide you with a composed occupancy contract or composed details about the tenancy;.
- charge you unjustified service costs or deposit costs;.
- discriminate against you or daunt you. Intimidation consists of threatening to end the tenancy arrangement or cut off your gas, water or electrical energy if you complain.

If a proprietor is discovered to be in breach of the rules in the Landlords (Good Practices) Act (or other rules), the municipality can do a variety of things, consisting of:

- issue a main warning;.
- problem a fine; or.
- in severe cases, take over management of the accommodation.

If you have a grievance that is not associated with the Landlords (Good Practices) Act, your municipality can put you in touch with the right organisation.

Report discrimination

Your property owner is not permitted to victimize you. To avoid discrimination (conscious or unconscious), property owners need to state in composing how they select their tenants. When marketing lodging, proprietors must consist of details on how renters will be chosen. Landlords should discuss to not successful candidates why they were not chosen.

If you think discrimination, contact the reporting office of your municipality. You can likewise call an anti-discrimination service (ADV). These services give independent guidance to individuals who report discrimination or have questions about discrimination.
You can also contact:

the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (+31 (0 )30 888 3 888/ info@mensenrechten.nl); or.
the police.

Brochure with extra details

Most renters more than happy with their property manager. But often things don't go as anticipated and problems can arise. The Landlords (Good Practices) Act provides occupants defense and gives property managers clearness about what's permitted and what's not permitted. This sales brochure supplies additional information about the law. The sales brochure is readily available in Dutch, English, Bulgarian, Polish, Romanian and Spanish.