Going to the Huurcommissie: can my landlord retaliate?

Short answer: no, your landlord may not end your tenancy because you go to the Huurcommissie. A landlord may only give notice for one of the reasons set out in the law (article 7:274 of the Dutch Civil Code), and a case at the Huurcommissie is not one of them. If you do not agree to the notice, a court decides, and until then your tenancy simply continues. If your landlord threatens to end your tenancy because you complain, the Dutch government calls that intimidation under the Good Landlordship Act (Wet goed verhuurderschap), and you can report it to your municipality. You can see in a few minutes whether your rent is too high with the free huurprijscheck.

Can your landlord evict you because you go to the Huurcommissie?

No. Your landlord may not evict you for this. According to Volkshuisvesting Nederland, the government's website on housing, a landlord may only give notice for a reason set out in the law. Article 7:274 of the Dutch Civil Code lists them; the main ones are:

1. you do not behave as a good tenant, for example rent arrears or causing nuisance;
2. your landlord urgently needs the home for their own use;
3. you refuse a reasonable proposal for a new tenancy agreement;
4. your landlord wants to use the site as the zoning plan (omgevingsplan) prescribes, for example when something else is going to be built.

The law also lists a few reasons for special situations, for example if you rent a room in the house where your landlord lives. Any other reason does not count: under article 7:271 of the Dutch Civil Code, a notice for a reason that is not in article 7:274 is void. A room in your landlord's own home has its own rules during the first nine months. A case at the Huurcommissie is not on the list. Two details from the same source that matter in practice: refusing a proposal that is only about the rent is not a reason to give notice. And selling the home is not urgent own use. Selling is only a reason in one special case: a private landlord who rents out only one home, lived in it themselves for at least two years right before your tenancy started, and had a clause put in your tenancy agreement allowing them to give notice to sell after an agreed period. Even then, the law sets further conditions, including on timing.

What does a landlord have to do to end your tenancy?

According to Volkshuisvesting Nederland, the landlord must give notice by registered letter or through a bailiff, and state the reason. The notice period is at least three months, plus one month for each full year you have lived there, up to six months. You get six weeks to say in writing whether you agree.

The tenancy only ends if you agree in writing. If you do not, only a court can end it (article 7:272 of the Dutch Civil Code). The court only looks at the reason stated in the notice, and if it rejects the claim, your tenancy is extended (article 7:273). My advice: never sign a notice or an "agreement to leave" before you have asked for advice.

What if you have a temporary tenancy agreement?

Since 1 July 2024 the Fixed Tenancy Agreements Act (Wet vaste huurcontracten) applies: a new tenant gets an open-ended contract in principle. According to the Dutch government, a temporary contract is now only allowed in exceptional cases, for example for students renting in another municipality for their studies.

If you have a temporary contract signed before 1 July 2024, the rules from before that date still apply to it. Whether it ends on the end date depends on how long the contract is and whether your landlord told you in writing in time that it is ending; if they did not, a short temporary contract continues for an indefinite period. Either way, that end date was already fixed in your contract and has nothing to do with a case at the Huurcommissie. Rentals under the Vacancy Act (Leegstandwet) have their own rules.

Will my rent go up because of this?

No. In the worst case your rent stays as it is. The normal annual rent increase does still exist, within the rules that apply to it. According to the Huurcommissie, the landlord of a social housing home may as a rule raise the rent once every twelve months, within a legal maximum.

What if your landlord makes threats or puts pressure on you?

The Good Landlordship Act has applied since 1 July 2023. According to Volkshuisvesting Nederland, a landlord may not intimidate you. The government gives these examples: threatening to end your tenancy because you complain, threatening to cut off your gas, water or electricity, and messages threatening to harm you.

Every municipality must have a reporting point for unwanted landlord behaviour. If your report falls under the Act, the municipality looks into it. If your landlord breaks the rules, the municipality can first give an official warning and then impose a fine or an order subject to a penalty, an amount the landlord has to pay for as long as they do not stop. As a last resort, the municipality can take over the management of the home. If you are threatened, you can also report it to the police.

What do you do if it happens anyway?

1. Keep a record of everything. Save letters, e-mails and messages. If something happens at the door or on the phone, write down straight away when it was and what was said.
2. Reply in writing and sign nothing under pressure. You do not have to agree to a notice, and without your agreement a court decides.
3. Report it to your municipality. Look on your municipality's website for the reporting point for unwanted landlord behaviour. If you are threatened, report it to the police.
4. Let someone with legal knowledge handle the contact.

In my work I see that most of the tension comes from direct contact between tenant and landlord. That is why I handle that contact for you. Contact with your landlord goes through me, and once your landlord knows you have legal support, things stay businesslike.

Do it yourself, or leave it to me?

You can do it yourself: count the points yourself, send the proposal to your landlord yourself and submit the request to the Huurcommissie yourself. Then you also handle the contact with your landlord yourself.

You can also leave it to me. You do the huurprijscheck, send your tenancy agreement and your latest rent increase letter, and sign the authorisation. I arrange everything with your landlord and, if needed, with the Huurcommissie. You pay afterwards, only once your landlord has agreed to my proposal or the Huurcommissie has ruled that your rent goes down. What it costs is on the prices page. The worst case? That the Huurcommissie does not rule that your rent goes down. Then everything stays as it is, and you pay me nothing.

In short
Going to the Huurcommissie is not a reason your landlord may use to end your tenancy. A landlord may only give notice for a reason set out in the law, and if you do not agree, a court decides. Your rent does not go up because of your case; the normal annual increase does still exist. Threatening you because you complain is intimidation, and you can report it to your municipality.

Want to know whether your rent is too high? Do the free huurprijscheck. In a few minutes you will see whether your rent can go down.

Sources

• Volkshuisvesting Nederland, Five reasons to end a tenancy agreement (Dutch): the main reasons, no other reason counts, a proposal only about the rent is not a reason, and a sale is not urgent own use.
• Volkshuisvesting Nederland, Procedure for ending a tenancy (Dutch): registered letter or bailiff, stating the reason, the notice period, six weeks, the court.
• Dutch Civil Code, article 7:271 (Dutch): notice by registered letter or bailiff, with the reason, the notice period and six weeks; a reason not in article 7:274 makes the notice void.
• Dutch Civil Code, article 7:274 (Dutch): the reasons a landlord may give notice, including a sale by a private landlord who lived there, only with a sale clause in the tenancy agreement (paragraph 1, under h, and paragraph 7).
• Dutch Civil Code, article 7:272 (Dutch): without the tenant's agreement, a court decides.
• Dutch Civil Code, article 7:273 (Dutch): the court only considers the reason in the notice; if it rejects the claim, the tenancy continues.
• Volkshuisvesting Nederland, Fixed tenancy agreements as the norm (Dutch): the Fixed Tenancy Agreements Act since 1 July 2024; a new tenant gets an open-ended contract.
• Rijksoverheid, When can I rent temporarily? (Dutch): the exceptions to the open-ended contract.
• Fixed Tenancy Agreements Act, Staatsblad 2023, 480 (Dutch): the old rules still apply to temporary contracts from before 1 July 2024.
• Dutch Civil Code, article 7:271 as it applied until 1 July 2024 (Dutch): when a temporary contract ends, the written notice in advance and extension if it is missing.
• Huurcommissie, Assessing the annual rent increase (Dutch): once every twelve months, within a legal maximum.
• Volkshuisvesting Nederland, Good Landlordship Act for tenants (Dutch): the ban on intimidation with examples, the municipal reporting point and what the municipality can do.