Good landlordship bill to be implemented on July 1 after speedy pass through Senate

As of July 1, tenants will likely receive better protection against abuses like excessively high rents or poor maintenance. The lower house of the Dutch parliament only recently agreed to the Good Landlordship Act, but the Senate passed the bill immediately on Tuesday. The Senators agreed to the bill without requiring further debate.

The Good Landlordship Act gives municipalities more options to intervene against bad landlords and set additional requirements for the maintenance of rentals. The new rules must also prevent discrimination and intimidation in the relationship between tenant and landlord. In addition, landlords will soon not be able to simply demand a high deposit or charge unreasonable service costs on top of the rent. Municipalities will also be given powers to deal with erroneous tenants, for example, with warnings and fines.

The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, passed the bill almost unanimously on March 7. Only the Van Haga Group voted against it. A few years ago, the VVD expelled Wybren van Haga because, as a real estate entrepreneur, he continued to interfere with complaining tenants while parliamentarians must distance themselves from their companies.