What are your rights as a student room tenant?

Due to the shortage of housing for students and young professionals, landlords hold a privileged position. They often exploit this situation by infringing upon tenants' rights, such as imposing unlawfully high rent or neglecting proper maintenance. However, tenants need not tolerate such behavior, as they possess numerous rights in the Netherlands to safeguard their interests. In this blog, we explain what your rights are as a tenant, what to look out for before you sign your lease, and what can and cannot be included in a contract.

When are you officially a tenant?

What do you need to do before you are officially the tenant of the room? First, arrange that you have a rental contract. Always check that this contract complies with the rules of the dutch rental law. If you find out later that the landlord has made you sign a contract that goes against rent law, in most cases the part of the contract that goes against rent law will be declared invalid. The rest of the contract, however, will remain valid.

After signing a contract, you are officially the tenant of the room. Next, you must arrange the move with the municipality where you will be living. You are always required by law to disclose to the Dutch government where you live.

Next, arrange your insurances. As a tenant you are often responsible for your own contents, so make sure you have contents insurance. Many insurers offer cheap insurance specifically for students and student rooms.

What may and may not be in a lease?

According to rental law, there is a standard contract in which many rules are fixed. Landlords will always try to bend these rules to their will. Know that in many cases here rental law is mandatory or semi mandatory if what is described is detrimental to the tenant.

What should you pay attention to before signing a lease and what are your rights as a tenant?

Rent

A bare rent is always fixed by law. Through a point system in the Netherlands you can check what the maximum rent a landlord can ask is. Often your landlord will offer you an all-in rent. This will include costs such as gas, water, electricity and internet. You can ask your landlord to justify these costs. If this shows that you have paid too much, you are entitled to a refund.

Contract duration

As a tenant, you may have a temporary rental contract for a room for a maximum of five years. If your landlord does not indicate in time that your contract is due to expire, this contract will automatically become an open-ended contract. If you rent a fully self-contained dwelling, a landlord may only offer a temporary rental contract for two years.

Additional charges

Often landlords charge a lot of extra fees. But what are the extra fees a tenant may legally charge?

A security deposit may be required. This is often a guarantee to the landlord that if you incur expenses on the property or if you stop paying the rent, he has something to fall back on.

Any acquisition costs go to the previous tenant. If he/she leaves furniture in the room, he/she can ask you to take it over.

Administrative expenses is an item you should pay close attention to. These costs may be incurred as long as they are reasonable. For example €15, - for drawing up the contract is allowed. If this is an extremely high amount, you can object.

Brokerage fees may not be charged just like that. Key money should also not be asked. Some landlords will call the deposit key money. This is allowed when you get the amount back when you return the key when the lease ends. However, charging money for handing over the keys is not allowed.

Maintenance

The cost of minor maintenance is almost always for you, the tenant, unless the contract states that the landlord will pay for it.

But what is minor maintenance? A rule of thumb for what constitutes minor maintenance is that it's on the inside of the property and it's wear and tear caused by occupancy of the room. Think about painting the room or a leaky faucet.

Major maintenance costs are always for the landlord. This often involves major repairs to the roof or central heating, for example. As long as this maintenance is not caused by you as a tenant, the landlord will pay for it.

Entering your room

A landlord is not allowed to enter your room without permission. The exception is for maintenance, but also in this case the landlord will have to inform you.

Notice period

For you as a tenant a notice period between 1 and 3 months is allowed. For the landlord this is 3 months with an additional month for each year you have lived in the room with a maximum of 6 months with a valid reason.

There are 7 valid reasons for a landlord to terminate the lease:

○ You are a bad tenant. This could mean you don't pay rent on time, damage the property or cause a lot of nuisance.

○ Urgently needed for own use. If the landlord no longer has a home due to circumstances, he can give this as a reason to terminate the lease through the courts.

○ You refuse a reasonable offer. If changes are made to the property, such as renovations, the landlord has the right to offer you a new contract. You do not have to agree to this, but if the court subsequently decides that this was a reasonable offer, the landlord has the right to terminate your contract.

○ Zoning change. If you live in a property that is not zoned as rental property or has been rezoned, your lease can be terminated.

○ homesharing. If you have a homesharing room, they can decide within the first 9 months that you do not fit in. You still have 3 months notice in which you can continue to live in the house.

○ Campus contract, a campus contract can be valid on rooms intended only for students. If you are no longer studying, the lease can be terminated.

○ Contract expires.

Earning money to pay your rent!

Have you chosen to live in a room and have settled everything well with your landlord? Then it's time for a flexible student job! Student employment agency Recruit a Student offers a lot of flexible work and is happy to help you find your ideal job. Check out the vacancies here and apply directly for a job that appeals to you. Or register at Recruit a Student so you stay informed of the latest vacancies that match your profile.