Affitti arretrati nei Paesi Bassi: cosa possono e cosa non possono fare i proprietari di casa

As a landlord in the Netherlands, you can claim unpaid rent and, if the arrears persist, ask the subdistrict court (kantonrechter) to dissolve the lease and order eviction, but you may never act on your own. Under Article 7:231 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW), a lease of built property can only be dissolved for a tenant’s failure by the court, and in practice courts usually accept dissolution once the arrears reach about three months’ rent.

This article explains when a tenant is in default, what a demand letter must contain, the reporting duty for residential lettings, how the court procedure works, how you recover the money, what you may not do, and which defences a tenant can raise.

When is a tenant in default?

Under Article 7:212 BW, the tenant must pay the rent at the agreed time. If the lease sets a fixed payment date, as almost every Dutch lease does, the tenant is in default by operation of law once that date passes, without a reminder (Article 6:83(a) BW).

From that moment statutory interest runs and the tenant is liable for damage caused by the delay. Establish the arrears per month: what was due, what was received and when. Separate the basic rent from advance payments for service charges, because an unsettled annual service charge statement is not the same as unpaid rent. Record any payment arrangement in writing and have both parties sign it.

The lease cannot extend your rights. Tenancy law in Book 7, Title 4 BW is largely mandatory for residential lettings, so a clause allowing the landlord to end the lease or enter the property without a court order has no effect. See our overview of disposizioni del diritto locativo.

What must a demand letter contain?

Although default arises automatically, a written demand is needed in practice and is required before you can charge extrajudicial collection costs to a consumer. Under Article 6:96(6) BW, you must first send a reminder giving the tenant at least fourteen days, starting the day after the reminder, to pay without extra costs, and state the collection costs that will be charged if payment does not follow.

A reminder that miscalculates the period or omits the amount of the costs does not entitle you to those costs, and courts check this of their own motion. A good demand letter names the tenant and the property, breaks down the arrears per month, states the total including interest, sets the payment period and account, and announces court proceedings. Send it by post and email and keep proof of dispatch.

Do you have to report arrears to the municipality?

For residential lettings, yes, under Article 2 of the Municipal Debt Assistance Decree (Besluit gemeentelijke schuldhulpverlening). You provide the tenant’s contact details and the amount of the arrears to the municipality after you have tried to contact the tenant personally, pointed out debt assistance, sent at least one written reminder, and offered in that reminder to pass on the details, without the tenant objecting.

The report does not suspend your claim. But the court weighs the efforts you made before proceedings, so skipping this step can count against you.

How do dissolution and eviction work?

All lease cases, whatever the amount, are heard by the subdistrict court under Article 93 of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure (Rv). You start with a writ of summons (dagvaarding) served by a bailiff, usually claiming payment of the arrears with interest and costs, dissolution of the lease and eviction.

Under Article 6:265 BW, every failure to perform gives the right to dissolve, unless the failure, given its particular nature or minor significance, does not justify dissolution. The tenant must invoke and substantiate that exception. Arrears of three months or more are generally enough; below that, the court looks at the payment history, the tenant’s response to reminders, whether the arrears were paid off before the hearing, debt assistance and the consequences of losing the home. Three months is a practical benchmark, not a statutory rule.

After the summons, the tenant can respond and there is usually an oral hearing where the court explores a settlement. A judgment normally follows within a few months and is almost always declared provisionally enforceable, so an appeal does not stop eviction by itself. The bailiff serves the judgment and carries out the eviction after the period set by the court; see our article on the procedura di sfratto legale.

Summary proceedings (kort geding) are not a shortcut for ordinary arrears. The preliminary relief judge cannot dissolve the lease and only orders eviction if dissolution in the main proceedings is highly likely and you have an urgent interest, for example when the arrears are combined with nuisance or illegal subletting.

How do you recover the arrears?

Dissolution ends the lease but does not pay the arrears. Statutory interest under Article 6:119 BW runs from the date of default; between businesses, the higher commercial interest rate of Article 6:119a BW applies. Extrajudicial collection costs follow a statutory scale based on the principal sum, and the court also awards a fixed contribution to the legal costs.

After judgment, the bailiff can attach wages, benefits, bank balances and movable property, leaving the debtor the protected minimum income. If assets may disappear before judgment, you can ask the preliminary relief judge for leave to levy a prejudgment attachment. Under Article 7:261b BW, a deposit for residential lettings may not exceed twice the basic rent and must be repaid within fourteen days after the lease ends, or within thirty days if you set off repair costs for damage. If the tenant enters statutory debt restructuring, arrears from before admission fall under that scheme, while rent due afterwards must be paid in full.

What may a landlord not do?

No amount of arrears allows self-help. Changing the locks, blocking access, putting the tenant’s belongings outside or cutting off water, electricity or heating is an unlawful act under Article 6:162 BW, and entering the home without permission can be trespass (huisvredebreuk) under Article 138 of the Dutch Criminal Code (Sr).

A tenant facing such measures can obtain restored access in summary proceedings within days, with a penalty payment and damages. Under the Good Landlordship Act (Wet goed verhuurderschap), landlords must refrain from intimidation, and municipalities enforce this with administrative measures and fines. Your maintenance obligations also continue: arrears do not suspend your duty to remedy defects; see our overview of diritti dell'inquilino.

Which defences can a tenant raise?

The most common defence is a defect in the property. Under Article 7:207 BW, the tenant can claim a proportional rent reduction from the day the defect was properly reported; for residential lettings, the tenant can also ask the Rent Tribunal (Huurcommissie) for a temporary reduction.

A tenant may not simply stop paying: a reduction is not a right to withhold the full rent. But a well-documented defect regularly reduces the arrears the court accepts. Disputes about the rent level or the annual service charge statement can also go to the Huurcommissie. Arrears that arose during renovation fall under separate rules; see our article on ristrutturazione con mantenimento del contratto di locazione.

For business premises, the procedure is the same, but there is no housing interest to protect and the court focuses on the commercial relationship and the payment history. Contractual penalties are common and the court can reduce them under Article 6:94 BW if they are clearly unreasonable. See our comparison of diritto immobiliare e locazione commerciale.

Cosa dovresti controllare in qualità di proprietario di un immobile in affitto?

• Draw up a monthly overview of rent due, payments received and dates, separate from service charges.
• Send a reminder that meets Article 6:96(6) BW: fourteen days from the day after the reminder, with the amount of collection costs.
• For residential lettings, take the steps of the Municipal Debt Assistance Decree and report the arrears to the municipality.
• Record any payment arrangement in writing, with the current rent, the instalment and the consequence of a missed payment.
• Check whether the tenant has reported defects that could support a rent reduction.
• Do not change locks or cut off utilities; go through the subdistrict court and the bailiff.

Cosa dovresti controllare come inquilino?

• Check the landlord’s calculation of the arrears and whether service charges have been mixed in.
• Check whether the reminder gave you fourteen days and stated the collection costs; otherwise those costs are not due.
• Report defects in writing and consider a rent reduction under Article 7:207 BW or via the Huurcommissie, but keep paying.
• Contact your municipality for debt assistance as early as possible.
• Paying off the arrears before the hearing often prevents dissolution, although you usually still bear the costs.

Cosa possiamo fare per te in caso di arretrati di affitto?

avvocati specializzati in diritto di locazione advise landlords and tenants on rent arrears.

• We check the arrears calculation and draft a demand letter that meets Article 6:96 BW.
• We draw up a payment arrangement that holds up in court.
• We prepare the summons for payment, dissolution and eviction and conduct the case before the subdistrict court.
• We arrange enforcement through the bailiff, including attachment.
• We conduct the tenant’s defence, including a rent reduction claim for defects.

Sintesi

• A lease of built property can only be dissolved for arrears by the court (Article 7:231 BW).
• A reminder with fourteen days and the amount of collection costs is required before charging those costs to a consumer.
• Courts usually accept dissolution from about three months’ arrears, but weigh all circumstances under Article 6:265 BW.
• Self-help such as changing locks or cutting off utilities is unlawful; only a bailiff may evict on the basis of a judgment.

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