Amsterdam landlord ordered to lower rent for tiny, leaky room from €1,950 to €95 per month

Two Amsterdam tenants had great success in reporting their landlord to the Huurcommissie rent tribunal for charging them exorbitant rent. The Huurcommissie ordered the landlord to lower the rent for a small, leaky, drafty room on Keizersgracht from 1,950 euros to temporarily 95 euros per month. The rent for another room in the same building was lowered from 1,200 euros to temporarily 93 euros.

The first tenant moved into the 20 square meter room in September last year for 1,950 euros per month, including furniture, gas, water and electricity. They said they quickly realized they were paying far more than the accommodation was worth. They filed the case with the Huurcommissie, an independent organization whose tribunal members and advisory board members are appointed by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.

"I have heard from the tenants themselves about the toilet leakage, and the windows; and now that it is getting cold and it is raining often, they are experiencing a great deal of inconvenience," the tenant's representative told the tribunal. "We have had a lot of hassle with this landlord, and the tenants have always cooperated in attempts to resolve the issues. When the tenant went to the Huurcommissie, the gas and electricity were also turned off. The municipality is now also investigating this."

The landlord's representative countered, saying the tenants were "difficult" to contact when trying to resolve the issues. "We regret the matter, and have often made attempts to remedy the defects, but unfortunately this was not possible because the tenants did not cooperate." The landlord also said that the problem with the utilities being switched off was a malfunction, and not intentional.

The tenant also claimed they were deceived, as the listing indicated the home they rented was supposed to be one of two independent apartments. In reality, they had to share a living room, open kitchen and front door. The two separate bedrooms did have their own bathrooms.

The Huurcommissie scored the appointment on a point scale, and determined the reasonable rental price should have been 476.85 euros per month. The tribunal then noted that the tenant was unable to lock their own bedroom. Additionally, the wood-framed kitchen skylight had a 10 millimeter crack in it, causing drafts, and the toilet tank in a shared bathroom was leaking.

The tribunal further lowered the rent to 95.37 euros until the damage is fixed, saying it could find no evidence the landlord actually tried to fix the problems. This can gradually increase as repairs are carried out to the maximum of just under 477 euros. The reduction was also backdated to September 1 from the ruling, which was filed at the end of December and published more recently. As a result, the landlord must repay the overpaid rent in the intervening months.

The second case involved the tenant who rented the other bedroom in the shared apartment. In this case, the landlord tried to claim that the apartment was scored by the incorrectly by the tribunal's assessment. "Tenant only has a bedroom and bathroom. The previous tenant always used the living room, but that was not the agreement," the landlord's representative stated.

The tenant's representative countered, "I don't understand the purpose of saying that the kitchen and living room are not intended for use by the tenant. The tenant only has a bedroom in a shared apartment and therefore also needs the kitchen and living room. The tenant has always used this without objection.The landlord was also ordered to pay the Huurcommissie 300 euros in fees for the first case, and 700 euros for the second case. An appeal can be filed by either side by mid-February, which would then be heard in court.