Court orders Amsterdam landlord to refund €1,080 in "membership costs" to tenant

Landlord The Don of the Don Bosco complex in Amsterdam Nieuw-West is not allowed to charge its tenants unspecified “membership costs,” the court in Amsterdam ruled in a case filed against one tenant. The landlord must refund the tenant 1,080 euros of membership costs paid over the past two years.

The Don Bosco complex comprises apartments and various communal areas, including workspaces, laundry, and a gym. Rent for an apartment there includes the cold rent - the net rent price, service costs for heat, internet, and TV, and then “membership costs.” The Don brought one tenant to court who refused to pay their last month’s rent in a two-year contract.

The tenant argued that the rent equals two years of membership costs - 30 euros per month each for them and their housemate, excluding three months waived due to the coronavirus pandemic - which they feel they paid unjustly. The tenant argued that they “already paid for the basic rent and service costs” without the mandatory membership costs. The tenant inquired multiple times about the membership costs but never got an answer from the landlord.

The landlord argued in court that tenants pay membership costs for the use of communal areas like the working space and the laundry and shared services like the depreciation on the design of communal areas and the WiFi and cameras in those spaces. The membership costs also cover the “house management that facilities the community concept” and the “service plan for minor repairs to the homes.” That service plan was the only itemized item on the list at the cost of 5.99 euros.

The court ruled in the tenant’s favor. Many of the items covered by the “membership costs” should not be charged separately to the tenant, the court ruled. For example, maintenance costs for the common areas must be part of the cold rent. The landlord also could not show whether it incurred real and actual costs on the items designated under the costs. The Don won’t get a chance to do this now, as the tenant has already requested such itemized billing multiple times. And the landlord did not provide the itemized costs, despite being legally obliged to do so.

“In this state of affairs, it is too late for The Don to submit further substantiation at this stage of the procedure,” the court said. It ruled that only one of the submitted items has a legal basis, namely the “service plan for minor repairs.” The Don, therefore, has to refund an amount of 1,080.80 euros to the former tenant.