Attempts to reach a solution with the landlord have so far led to nothing. But Klaas has no intention of leaving. Since all contractual agreements have been continued in practice and rent has been paid for the rooms for more than two years, Klaas is appealing to tenancy law and is demanding that the rent payments and the rental contracts be formalized again by means of a permanent contract. This is the only way to put an end to the uncertain housing situation and the threat of eviction.

Rental income, no maintenance

The family home in Utrecht was once divided into student rooms and rented separately to students and house hunters. Together, four tenants pay more than €2,500 in rent for the home each month, but the landlord has carried out minimal maintenance for years. All rooms in the house still have single glazing, the kitchen and bathroom are in an outdated state. Since Klaas moved into the building, there have been problems with various leaks and mold. In order to make the home more habitable again, the tenants have carried out a number of much-needed maintenance jobs themselves, assuming that they would be able to continue living in the house for a long time.

Profit maximization by circumventing tenancy law

However, to his surprise and horror, a letter arrived on the mat after a year stating that his temporary contract was being terminated and that he and his two co-tenants would have to leave after all. It soon became apparent that this letter was just for form's sake and that the landlord would like the tenants to live in the building to generate rental income, but did not want to be tied to the tenants on the basis of a permanent rental contract. She intends to sell the building in the reasonably short term, and without permanent tenants, the value of a home increases by an average of 30%! To make this possible, Klaas had to deregister from the municipality and had to start paying the rent in cash. The landlord assumes that she can circumvent tenancy law in this way and can then evict the tenants at any time. 

Purchase does not break lease

In the meantime, a potential buyer of the property has emerged. The current landlord has informed this buyer that Klaas and his housemates will be leaving before the completion, and has therefore demanded that they vacate the property before 31 August. When Klaas indicated that he could not meet this demand and that he would like to find a solution, a bailiff threatened to evict him. 

Now Klaas is completely ignored by the current landlord. A letter in which the tenants appeal to their rights and make a proposal to find a solution remains unanswered and from app contact with a fourth room occupant it appears that landlord Amita is now pretending that they no longer live in the building. This causes a lot of stress and uncertainty.

Klaas called in BPW Utrecht, has since had a rental law attorney look into the case and reported undesirable landlord behavior to Rental team Utrecht. Klaas, supported by BPW Utrecht, demands from landlord Amita:

1. Provide housing security and prevent homelessness!
2. Formalize the monthly rent payments with a fixed rental contract under the same conditions as in the March 2022 contract.
3. Make sure that a potential buyer is aware of the tenants' situation so that the conflict is not continued with a new owner after the property has been sold.

The potential new owner has already indicated that he intends to renovate the property, increase the rent, add additional residents and offer the new residents a joint group contract. By switching to a group contract instead of individual contracts for each room, the new owner may be seeking to circumvent the rent regulation for individual rooms and despite the new Affordable Rent Act to be able to charge exorbitant rent in the private sector. 

Exploitation and lawlessness in private rental

Circumventing fixed contracts, rent protection and rent regulation are unfortunately common tactics used by landlords. For years they have been able to fill their pockets by stacking temporary contracts, swapping tenants for each other and raising rents to the maximum. Now that these fraudulent rental practices have finally been curbed somewhat by the abolition of regular temporary contracts and the introduction of the Affordable Rent Act, landlords are still trying to get rid of their tenants quickly and sell their properties for as much money as possible. Intimidation, unlawful evictions and illegal rental structures are not taboo for some landlords. Fortunately, Klaas called in BPW Utrecht to put a stop to the intimidation of his landlord and prevent an illegal eviction. 

Update: Council questions and media attention

The case of Klaas and his housemates received attention in the Algemeen Dagblad following our press release. See 'Pay cash rent or get lost: Klaas (28) has nowhere to go after his annual contract expires'

On September 12th there are council questions asked in the municipal council by Bij1 with the impending eviction of Klaas in Utrecht as a starting point. Klaas' case is far from unique, unfortunately. The alderman for housing, Dennis de Vries (PvdA), admitted that dozens of tenants have reported this year due to intimidation by landlords. And that is apart from the many who probably never report it. Unfortunately, the alderman's responses about the approach to the problem were limited. The alderman succeeds very well in explaining the theoretical functioning of, among other things, the Rental Team and the Good Landlordship Act, but whether it also functions in practice as intended is not discussed. The responsibility is placed with the tenant to contact the rental team, who can then send a warning letter. He also does not consider preventive measures, such as introducing a landlord's permit, to be an option. The fact that many tenants are not aware of their rights must be solved with an information campaign. At the same time, it is denied that the rental team is overloaded. This is remarkable, because Klaas was told that the rental team would not have the capacity to send his landlord a warning letter. He also heard nothing more from the Rental Team after his report.

The alderman sees that because of the new legislation many landlords want to sell their properties and evict tenants, and often use illegal methods to do so. But according to him, expanding the agencies to respond to this was not applicable at this time. This while only 6 warning letters were sent for the 53 reports of intimidation and not a single fine was imposed. This is totally inadequate, the alderman does acknowledge the problem of intimidation by landlords, but apparently he thinks sending 6 warning letters and not a single fine for 53 reports is sufficient.

It seems that tenants who are dealing with intimidation and threatened evictions will not be able to count on serious enforcement and help from the municipality or the Rental Teams in the near future. Want to stand stronger in a conflict with your landlord? Become a member of the Precarious Housing Association and join our solidarity network for and by tenants. Curious about the activities of BPW Utrecht or do you have a housing problem yourself? Come to the BPW Utrecht residential consultation hour.