Information about commercial real estate

For commercial property, there are strict demands for durability. For example, since January 1^st 2023 office spaces must have at least energy label C to be let or used. There are exceptions, but these are limited.

 If you don’t meet this requirement, you risk the following:

• Government enforcement, such as fines or penalty’s
• Decrease in value of the property
• Limitations when refinancing or selling
• Possible tenant claims when the property doesn’t adhere to the agreed upon function of use

It’s important to look further ahead: steps are being taken to improve the energy label to A in the future, and installations such as central heating boilers are slowly phased out. As owner, you have to plan ahead for durability, both financial and technical.

With commercial properties, the distribution of maintenance differs from that of residential properties. Legally, the regulations for offices and shops (7:230a of the Dutch Civil Code) leaves plenty of room for contractual agreements. In practise, usually the following applies:

• Landlord: major maintenance and replacement of essential installations (such as roof, foundation, main sewage, facades and technical installations).
• Tenant: daily and minor maintenance, including malfunctions caused by use, interior finishings and often the periodic maintenance of installations.

In the case of shops (7:290 of the Dutch Civil Code) agreements made can differ, but a large part of the maintenance, usually more than expected by landlords, are contractually attributed to tenant.

Important: Installations such as air conditioning and heating systems are increasingly attributed to the landlord. Unclear agreements often lead to discussions, so the division must be explicitly detailed in the contract.

Most tenancy agreements for commercial properties include an annual indexation. This is usually based op the CBS’ “All Households CPI”, but other CPI’s (such as the CPI for Processed or Unprocessed Goods) also occur. Which indexation you should be using, fully depends on what the contract states.

The starting date of the tenancy agreement also plays an important role: indexation is almost always done on the contractually agreed upon date, regardless of when the contract was signed. When inflation is exceptionally high or low, the contractual indexation is leading.

 A correct application is essential, as a wrong calculation or a late notice could lead to inability to implement the indexation or the tenant demanding repayment.