High energy bills causing more issues with mold, damp; 17% more rentals inspected

The Dutch rent tribunal, Huurcommissie, investigated defects in 17 percent more rental homes last year than in 2024, performing over 100 structural inspections per week. Damp and mold were persistent problems, and often caused by tenants not turning the heat up high enough due to high energy bills, AD reports based on the Huurcommissie’s annual report.

Despite many housing corporations working to make their rentals more sustainable, damp and mold remain common issues. “This is not only an issue in old homes where too little has been invested for years, but even in new construction,” Vivianne de Prouw, one of the Huurcomissie inspectors, told AD. “It can have technical causes such as a leak, but in half of the cases, it is due to the resident’s behavior. For example, because the heating is set low or there is little ventilation.”

Too low heating and closed windows are often the results of tenants not wanting to push their energy bills even higher, Huurcommissie chairman Henri Lenferink told the newspaper. “Energy poverty plays a role. People are afraid that expensively heated air is escaping.” The Huurcommissie has come across several cases where tenants stuffed ventilation grilles with paper to avoid losing heat.

“Some [tenants] are really struggling and have, for example, social, medical, mental, or financial problems. We are often the first person to visit them,” De Prouw said.

It is not the rent tribunal’s responsibility to solve such problems, but ignoring them is also not an option, Lenferink said. “You enter people’s homes. Because of that, you see things you weren’t there for. We see very distressing situations. Tenants are having a hard time.” When the situation allows, the Huurcommissie informs the municipality. “Then help can be set into motion. The government does not always succeed in seeing the people who need help.”

After an inspection, the Huurcommissie issues a binding ruling on how to address the issue. “The landlord has a duty of care; they must remedy defects,” Leferink said. If the defect is not caused by the tenant, they can receive a rent reduction until the issue is fixed.

The Huurcommissie handled over 16,200 cases filed by tenants and landlords last year. After defects, the level of rent was a common issue. Huurcommissie inspectors checked rent levels about 37 times per week last year.