Landlords ignore rent tribunal rulings in at least 10 percent of cases

Landlords often ignore rulings by the Huurcommissie, the Dutch rental tribunal, Pointer found. In about 10 percent of rulings, tenants have to go to the Huurcommissie again for the same case regarding too high rents, unfixed defects, or overpaid service fees.

Pointer examined around 38,000 published rulings issued by the Huurcommissie between May 2021 and December 2025. It found that the problems in the rulings were likely not resolved at 1 in 10 addresses.

In those cases, tenants who won a case ended up going to the Huurcommissie again months later, followed by a new ruling with the same verdict. This repetition occurred primarily in cases concerning service charges, the costs tenants pay on top of their rent for things like utilities and cleaning.

Problems were likely left unresolved in more cases, and the tenants gave up or moved.

The program compiled a list of over 160 addresses with at least two serious rulings spaced at least six months apart. These cases involved rent that was over 33 percent too high, service charges that were over €100 too high, and defects that threatened the health and safety of tenants, such as persistent mold, dangerous electrical installations, or concrete rot.

Pointer then traced the owners of the 160 most problematic addresses, using data from the land registry. 15 owners appear on the list more than once with different addresses. Landlord XIOR tops the list with eight addresses with unresolved issues after multiple Huurcommissie rulings.

The Woonbond, which advocates for tenants’ interests, is not surprised by Pointer’s findings, telling the program that it has received similar signals. “Fortunately, things often go well, and many tenants are helped by such a Huurcommissie ruling. But there really is a segment of landlords who make the same mistake time and again.”

The Woonbond thinks that municipalities can do more to ensure better compliance with Huurcommissie rulings. “Under the Good Landlordship Act, municipalities have the authority to enforce against improper rental practices. Non-compliance with a ruling could also be included in this.”