Amsterdam orders student housing landlord to lower rents after illegal overcharges found
Amsterdam ordered HiCondo, a student housing provider in Zuidoost, to drop the illegally high rent prices. That follows findings from a municipal investigation that show that hundreds of students were overcharged for rent. HiCondo's tennants are mostly young international students.
The case involves about 350 units in a single student housing complex. According to the city of Amsterdam and tenant organization !WOON, monthly rents were set tens to several hundred euros above the legal maximum under national rent regulations.
The city has ordered HiCondo to reduce rents to lawful levels within four weeks. If the company does not comply, authorities can impose fines of up to hundreds of thousands of euros. If violations continue, the city may take over management of the property, including rent collection and operations.
Officials said inspections and contract analysis under the national housing points system confirmed that the violations were structural and not isolated.
Housing Alderman Zita Pels said students and young people have long been victimized by landlords who exploit Amsterdam's severe housing shortage. "With the Affordable Rent Act in hand, we have the tools as a municipality to act directly and decisively against these kinds of practices, and we will do so," she said. "Charging excessive rent or intimidating tenants is unacceptable."
HiCondo has previously been fined for tenant-related violations. In March, it received a 45,000-euro penalty for excessive security deposits and service charges for services that were not provided.
Earlier reports also found that some tenants paid security deposits of nearly 3,000 euros. Monthly rents ranged from 800 to 870 euros. Annual service charges were reported between 2,300 and 2,900 euros. Many tenants are international students who said they accepted the terms due to urgent housing needs.
Tenant advocacy organization !WOON has filed a criminal complaint against HiCondo manager Soner Sari, alleging that he falsified invoices used to justify service charges. According to !WOON, the invoices were submitted as evidence in cases before the Dutch Rent Tribunal and a district court. It is unclear whether the prosecutors will pursue the case.
The city is urging tenants who believe they are overpaying to report their case through official channels or tenant support organizations. This also applies to those who lack a formal rent points calculation for contracts signed after January 1, 2025.
