What always applies to a rental agreement?
The law regulates various matters when it comes to rental agreements. A number of these provisions apply to both ordinary and special rental agreements.
What always applies to a rental agreement?
The law regulates various matters when it comes to rental agreements. A number of these provisions apply to both ordinary and special rental agreements.
Basic obligations of the tenant and the landlord:
Every landlord must behave like a good tenant and every tenant must behave like a good tenant. A landlord will generally behave like a good tenant if he makes what is rented out under the rental agreement available to the tenant in a good condition. The tenant must be able to make normal use of the rented property. This is also referred to as the right to rental enjoyment. On the other hand, the tenant must pay the rent and handle the rented property with care. This makes him a good tenant.
Non-compliance:
In any rental agreement, the tenant and the landlord must comply with what they have agreed in the rental agreement. If they do not do so, there will be a breach of contract. In case of non-performance, the affected party can invoke various remedies. He can demand that the agreement is still properly fulfilled, that the agreement is dissolved or that he receives compensation.
Dissolution must be proportionate. If the rented property has a small defect, which can easily be remedied, dissolution is not possible.
Liability for damages:
If there is damage to the rented property, the tenant will be liable, unless he can prove that the damage is not his fault. For fire damage, the reverse applies. We recommend that the rules regarding liability are always properly included in the rental agreement. What is also possible is that the tenant in the agreement is obliged to take out a certain insurance (think of fire insurance). In this way you create for yourself as a landlord a greater chance of actually being able to collect certain damages.
Subletting:
The legislator has not included a general ban on subletting in the provisions of rental agreements. However, subletting is not permitted if the tenant can assume that the landlord has reasonable objections to it. This may be deviated from in the rental agreement. It may, for example, stipulate that subletting is not permitted under any circumstances. This is certainly wise for the lessor, as he always knows who is currently using the leased property and with whom he should be when the rent is not paid, for example.
Purchase does not break rent:
In general, purchase does not break rent. This means that the obligations from the rental agreement pass to the new owner if the current owner sells the property. In the case of movable property (such as a car) this may be deviated from. You can then include in the rental agreement that the agreement ends as soon as the rented property is sold.
Special rental agreements: rental protection
In addition to general rental agreements, there are three special rental agreements. These are special agreements because the law has prescribed more detailed rules to protect the tenant. This is called rent protection.
The rental of residential premises
In the event of a rental agreement relating to the rental of a residential property, the tenant is entitled to rent protection. Rent protection means that the rental agreement cannot be terminated automatically by the lessor. He can only terminate the tenancy agreement if he has obtained permission to do so from the court. In some cases, the landlord can terminate the tenancy more easily, such as renting out a student or hospitality room.
Since 2016, it has been possible to rent out accommodation for a short period of time. It is a short-term lease if the lease is for a maximum of two (when renting out an independent residence) to five (when renting out a non-self-contained residence) years. The landlord should always pay close attention to the fact that a tenant still receives rent protection when the temporary lease is extended. In the case of a temporary lease, the lessor also has the obligation to inform the tenant in good time about the expiry of the lease. Timely in this case: a maximum of 3 and a minimum of 1 prior to the expiry of the tenancy agreement. If the lessor does not comply with this obligation, the court may rule that from now on the tenancy agreement will be for an indefinite period of time. This makes it a lot more difficult for the lessor to dissolve the tenancy agreement.
The rental of retail spaces
A lease agreement for the rental of retail space has a standard term of five years, after which the landlord has the right to extend the term by five years. In principle, therefore, there is a minimum duration of the tenancy agreement of 10 years if the tenant decides to terminate the agreement earlier. With this form of the rental agreement, too, the lessor can only dissolve the agreement after obtaining the court's approval. The notice period for both parties is at least one year.
The automatic extension of five years does not apply to agreements entered into for less than five years. Has the use of the rented property lasted longer than two years? If so, the agreement will be extended by operation of law to a period of five years.
Offices and other business premises
If the property is neither residential nor retail, the lease often relates to an office space, practice space or workshop. In this case an eviction protection applies. There is no minimum rental period applicable or a right of extension. What does apply is that the tenant, after the end of the lease period (by dissolution or expiry) has the right to request the court to extend the lease within two months. The tenant has three opportunities to request an extension of the rental agreement. Submitting this request suspends the obligation to vacate the premises.
ROZ rental agreement models
The standard model lease contracts and general provisions of the Dutch Real Estate Council (ROZ-model) are often used for the lease of living space, lease of office space and other commercial space (Section 7:230a of the Dutch Civil Code), lease of retail space and other commercial space (Section 7:290 of the Dutch Civil Code) or a lease of car box (garage)/parking space. Legal Q's legal experts have extensive experience in drafting and negotiating lease agreements based on the ROZ models and are happy to assist landlords and tenants with legal advice.
Please contact us
When entering into the tenancy agreement, it is important to include the statutory provisions that apply to rentals in the tenancy agreement. Would you like support in drawing up this agreement? Or do you have a dispute with your (re)tenant about the (termination of the) tenancy agreement? Our legal experts will be happy to assist you. Feel free to contact us for more information.