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Rent
A rental agreement of a house and apartment is drawn up to properly record the agreements between the tenant and the landlord about what you can expect from each other. It records topics that you do not immediately think of when making an oral appointment. The rental agreement is also there to be able to fall back on if the tenant or landlord at a certain moment don’t remember or is not keeping to the original made agreements.
The rental agreement is drawn up within the framework of the tenancy law as laid down in the Civil Code. The following are always included in the rental agreement:
In the rental agreement, the landlord (s) is described with the full name (s), date of birth (s) and place (s) of birth.
The tenant’s full name (s), place and date of birth are also mentioned.
It describes who lives in the house. The rental agreement is in the name of the tenant. The other residents are also appointed in the contract.
The agreed rental price is also included in the rental agreement. This is usually broken down into base rent, a part for upholstery or furniture and, if applicable, service costs and possibly a parking space. The rent is indexed in July every year as standard. The date of the first rent increase is stated in the rental agreement.
The amount of the deposit and under which conditions the tenant will receive the deposit back is described.
The details of the rented house are also included in the rental agreement: is it an apartment, a single-family house or a detached house? How many bedrooms does the apartment have and does the house have a garden? Is it an unfurnished or fully furnished house, does the house have a garage or a parking space and/or storage room? The address of the house is also included in the rental agreement.
When the tenant has to pay the rent is also described in the rental agreement.
In most cases of upholstered rental, the subscriptions for gas, water, electricity and television and the internet are in the name of the tenant. If a house is rented fully furnished, gas, water, electricity and television and the internet are often in the name of the landlord or manager. In this case, the (advanced) amount is included in the rental agreement.
Another provision in the rental agreement is about taxes and other charges that are for the account of the tenant or landlord, as well as which insurance policies must be taken out by tenant and/or landlord.
The starting date of the rental period is stated in the rental agreement. The rental period differs per situation. Below, various types of rental are briefly explained, concerning the rental period and the notice period stated in the rental agreement.
There are different versions of the rental agreement. Drafted and applied specifically for each situation. What type of contract does the agreement involve? That is also stated in the rental agreement. The most common types of contracts are briefly explained below.
This is the most common and best-known form of rental in the Netherlands. In the case of rental for an undetermined period, the rental agreement states, in addition to the commencement date, the minimum rental period. During this period, the tenant cannot cancel the rent. After this minimum rental period, the tenant has one calendar month notice period.
If a home is rented out on the basis of a temporary rental for a maximum of two years, the maximum end date is stated in the rental agreement next to the commencement date. With this type of rental agreement, it is also possible to opt for a shorter maximum rental period than 2 years. There is no minimum rental period for the tenant. The notice period for the tenant is one calendar month.
As a landlord, you must send a notice to the tenant at least 1 month and a maximum of 3 months before the expiry of the rental to inform them that the end date is approaching. It is not possible by law to conclude a temporary rental agreement again with the same tenant, but only a rental agreement for an indefinite period.
If the house is temporarily and therefore not indefinitely available for rent due to, for example, the landlord’s stay abroad, a rental agreement will be drawn up in the category ‘intermediate rental’. In this case, the end date is stated in the rental agreement, plus the minimum rental period for the tenant. The landlord can cancel the rental agreement with a notice period of no less than three calendar months and a maximum of six calendar months.
Exceptional provisions
Special provisions are often included at the end of the rental agreement. This discusses topics that have not yet been laid down in a model for the rental agreement and the General Provisions, or that deviate from the standard documentation of the General Provisions. For example, that it is a non-smoking home or that pets are not allowed.
The General Provisions
If you would like to record everything in the rental agreement itself, the rental agreement will be a very long and extensive document. That is why all regular matters surrounding the rental of housing are described in the General Provisions. This includes maintenance of the garden, minor maintenance of the house for the tenant, termination of Rental, payments, destination and access to the house.
The most commonly used model of the General Provisions in the Netherlands has been laid down by the ROZ.
Do you have any further questions after reading this article about the rental agreement or do you want to know what the options for renting out your home are? Please contact us without any obligation. We are happy to help you!
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