Private landlords massively violate the rental rules

2023-05-17 04:32:00

Pawnmongers? Slum lords? The Rental Committee does not use such words. But her annual report shows that especially private individuals who own a few houses for rent, disproportionately often violate the rules. They ask too high a rent, they do not fix defects in their houses and they charge too much service costs.

The Rental Committee settles disputes between tenants and landlords of about 2.5 million homes in the social sector (with rents of up to more than 800 euros). The vast majority of these houses are rented out by housing corporations, only 16 percent are owned by a private landlord. Nevertheless, 53 percent of the 12,000 disputes submitted to the committee in 2022 originate from that private part of the rental market.

Not only do private landlords cause an excessive number of disputes, their tenants are also almost always right when they approach the Rent Assessment Committee with such a dispute. Only when it comes to the annual rent increase, these tenants usually get no response.

The landlord often gets away with it

But when it comes to the question of whether private landlords do not already charge too much rent anyway, the Rent Assessment Board says yes in 98 percent of the cases handled. In the event of defects in the home that should lead to a lower rent, tenants are proved right in 95 percent of cases. And when it comes to service costs that are too high, even at 99.6 percent.

Very different from corporations: their tenants are proven right in only 16 percent of all disputes. Corporations and also larger real estate entrepreneurs usually have their affairs ‘well in order’, explains chairman Asje van Dijk of the Rental Committee. “But for the smaller ones, a house is just an investment for their savings, they use it to provide for their pension, renting is not really their business. They are often ill-informed about laws and regulations.”

So no ill will? Yes, that also happens, says Van Dijk. Although there is a points system in the social sector that determines what a reasonable rent is (the better the house, the more points, the higher the rent), application of this is not yet mandatory: there is ‘freedom of contract’, so the landlord is free to ask what he wants. “As long as the tenant does not raise the alarm with the Rental Committee, the landlord will get away with it.”

Going to the Huurcommissie generates a lot of money

The latter will change – if the bill is adopted that Minister Hugo de Jonge (housing) has submitted to parliament. First of all, De Jonge wants many more homes to fall under this points system. The limit is therefore raised from a maximum of 145 points (more than 800 euros in rent can be charged for this) to 187 points (1100 euros).

In addition, the minister wants to make application mandatory. Landlords who ask for more than what the points system results in now only run the risk that their tenant will go to the Rent Assessment Committee and that they will still impose a rent reduction on them. Soon they can also be fined 22,500 euros by municipalities. “Landlords have to pay attention,” says Van Dijk. “That could work preventively.”

This also partly overcomes the fact that many tenants do not dare to call in the Rent Assessment Committee, for fear of reprisals by their landlord. While going to that committee can save them a lot of money. Testing the rent against the points system leads to an average rent of 178 euros lower, according to the annual report. Those who go to the Rent Assessment Committee because of defects in their house even get off with an average 279 euros lower rent – whether or not temporarily.