In a tight housing market there are unfortunately landlords who bend the rules somewhat and are unconcerned about their tenants’ welfare. In our experience, this only applies to a tiny portion of landlords but in the current political climate there was enough support to pass the Good Landlord Act. While we completely endorse the primary goal of the act, it’spainfully clear that policymakers have little notion of day-to-day practice on the rental market.
What will happen?
There’s still a relatively large amount that is unclear and not everything has been worked out in sufficient detail. However, the government’s basic aim in implementing this Good Landlord Act is to protect tenants against bad landlords. To this end, municipalities will be given far-reaching powers that can be divided into three instruments:
- Seven general rules for being a good landlord
- A municipal help and information desk
- The option of introducing a licensing scheme
1. Seven general rules for being a good landlord
- Protection against discrimination:
Landlords and rental agents must be clear about how the selection process for tenants works and the grounds on which tenants are accepted or rejected. Update: The mandatory protocol that is part of this will come into effect on January 1, 2024. - Protection against intimidation:
Landlords and rental agents must refrain from all forms of intimidation or threatening behaviour. This includes obvious forms of physical intimidation but also, for example, threats about not paying back deposits. - Deposit:
The deposit may be a maximum of twice the basic rent. This only applies to tenancy agreements that enter into effect after the act has come into force. The deposit must be paid back within fourteen days of the tenancy agreement being terminated. In the event of any damage to the property or if any other amounts need to be deducted from the deposit, this term increases to thirty days. Weird as it is, the ministry seems to have forgotten to implement a transitional arrangement into the law, so this arrangement also applies to current rental agreements. - Duty of disclosure:
Interhouse is working on an information sheet that will be sent to tenants as standard.
Landlords and rental agents must notify tenants of:
– the tenant’s rights and obligations with respect to the rented property, insofar as these rights and obligations are not set out in the tenancy agreement;
– if a deposit is charged, the amount of the deposit and how the amount owed to the tenant by the landlord is determined on termination of the tenancy agreement as well as the applicable periods of notice;
– contact details for a point of contact the tenant can turn to for matters relating to the rented property;
– contact details for the help desk of the municipality in which the rented property is situated Update: The mention of the contact details is effective as of January 1, 2024;
– and if service fees are charged, the tenant’s obligation to pay, for which a full breakdown of fees must be provided annually to the tenant. - Requirement to put the agreement in writing:
The tenancy agreement must be laid down in writing. - Service fees:
The landlord only charges those service fees permitted by law on top of the basic rent. - Ban on double mediation fees:
Rental agents may not charge double mediation fees. This was already prohibited but still common practice in some cities. The municipality can now enforce this.
2. A municipal help and information desk
It will be mandatory for municipalities to set up a help and information desk and for landlordsto give their tenants the contact details for this.
The idea is for the help desk to be an accessible way of reporting bad landlords so that the municipality can then act. The municipality has the option of imposing a (large) fine or penalty for non-compliance.
In the information provided by the VNG (association of Dutch municipalities) to its members, municipalities are encouraged to structure their help desk by aligning it with their ‘rental teams’. This isn’t such a bad idea in itself but these rental teams often pay little attention tothe rights and interests of landlords and only defend the tenants’ interests. The rental market would benefit from less polarisation and more connection.
3. The option of introducing a licensing scheme
The municipality will be able to designate areas in which properties may only be let after a licence has been obtained. The municipality must explain the reason for introducing amandatory licence in a certain area and one criterion for this is that the quality of life in that area must be under pressure. However, from previous legislation we know that municipalities don’t always consider the reason to be that important and often designate areas at random. It won’t be difficult to obtain a licence as the municipality may only refuse a licence if the landlord meets one of the four grounds for refusal set out in the act. Bona fide landlords will find that the grounds of refusal don’t apply to them.
The municipality may introduce a mandatory licence for rental to migrant workers that applies to the entire municipality.
In short: what you need to know and do as a landlord
Remember that not everything has been clarified yet and a great deal still needs to be worked out in detail.
Before 1 July 2023:
Prepare for the legislation; in principle the legislation only applies to tenancy agreements that enter into effect after 1 July (with the exception of the duty of disclosure).
After 1 July 2023:
- Do not demand a deposit that is higher than twice the basic rent;
- Provide the mandatory information to the tenant: for new tenancy agreements, the information must be included in the contract (as an appendix). Sitting tenants must be notified by 1 July 2024;
- Rental agents and landlords who conduct their own selection process must have a written protocol that describes how tenants are selected unless the property is rented privately and not offered on the open market.
Critical footnote
Rogue landlords and unacceptable rental practices need to be effectively addressed.
Many good landlords will experience a few minor inconveniences under this legislation. It saddles landlords with an additional (administrative) burden. And this at a time when the amount of rental housing stock is already dwindling because of the enormous accumulation of government measures. It begs the question of whether this will genuinely help either tenants or landlords.
We’re all in favour of protecting tenants. After all, housing is an important necessity of life. Unfortunately, from experience we also know of many examples of tenants who bend the rules and fail to comply with their obligations. Malicious tenants could use a municipal helpdesk to burden a landlord with an undeserved investigation. In the interests of legal equality, it would be better if landlords were also able to report tenants to the help desk.
Compliance
Yet this legislation will no doubt finds its own path and, once the kinks have been ironed out by the municipalities and lawcourts, let’s hope it contributes to an agreeable rental climate. It’s increasingly essential to turn to an expert when letting a property. The average landlord has to weave their way through a labyrinth of rules and off-putting legislation just to provide a necessity of life that is in extremely short supply.
Our employees are receiving additional training and we are adjusting our tenancy agreements in order to comply with this new legislation in full.
