Eviction in the Netherlands: the procedure from summons to bailiff

A landlord in the Netherlands can only evict a tenant with a court judgment, enforced by a court bailiff (gerechtsdeurwaarder). Between the first missed payment and the eviction sit a demand letter, a summons, a hearing before the subdistrict court (kantonrechter), a judgment and a bailiff’s notice; the main exception is administrative closure of the property by the mayor. Below we set out that sequence, the timing, the costs and where you have room to act.

Can a landlord evict a tenant without a court order?

No. Ending the tenancy and clearing the property are two separate decisions, and both belong to the court. Until a judge has granted an eviction order and a bailiff has enforced it, the tenant may stay, whatever the arrears and whatever the contract says.

A landlord may not change the locks, cut off water, gas, electricity or heating, remove the tenant’s belongings or enter the home without consent. Dutch law calls this self-help eigenrichting, and it is unlawful. A tenant faced with it can start interim injunction proceedings (kort geding) and is usually back inside within days, with the landlord ordered to restore access on pain of a penalty payment. Entering a home against the occupier’s will can also be the criminal offence of trespass (huisvredebreuk, Article 138 of the Criminal Code, Sr).

How can a tenancy be ended: notice or dissolution?

Termination by notice (opzegging)

A landlord can give written notice only on one of the closed statutory grounds in Article 7:274 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW): the tenant has not behaved as a good tenant, the landlord urgently needs the property for his own use (dringend eigen gebruik), the tenant refuses a reasonable offer of a new contract, or the property is needed to implement the applicable environmental plan (omgevingsplan). The notice period is three months, plus one month for every full year of the tenancy, up to six months (Article 7:271 BW).

Notice alone ends nothing: unless the tenant agrees in writing, the tenancy continues until the court decides otherwise (Article 7:272 BW). Since the Fixed-Term Rental Contracts Act (Wet vaste huurcontracten) took effect on 1 July 2024, the indefinite tenancy is again the main rule, so a contract the landlord assumed would expire may in fact be open-ended.

Dissolution for breach (ontbinding)

Article 6:265 BW allows every failure in performance to justify dissolution, unless the failure, given its nature or minor significance, does not justify it. For homes, Article 7:231 BW reserves dissolution to the court; the exception is administrative closure under Article 13b of the Opium Act or Article 174a of the Municipalities Act.

In rent arrears cases, dissolution is almost always the route. No notice period runs first, and the landlord can combine the money claim, dissolution and eviction in one summons. The same route serves for nuisance, unauthorised subletting and cannabis cultivation.

How much rent arrears justifies eviction?

There is no statutory threshold in months. In its preliminary ruling of 28 September 2018 (ECLI:NL:HR:2018:1810) the Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) held that any breach in principle justifies dissolution; the tenant must make out the exception, and the court weighs all circumstances, including the tenant’s interest in keeping the home, even when the tenant does not appear.

So one late payment or a small residual balance will not by itself lead to eviction. Arrears of several months are in practice where landlords start proceedings, but the court can refuse dissolution on larger arrears or allow it on smaller ones. Borderline cases often turn on behaviour: whether the tenant answered the demand letter, kept to an arrangement and sought debt help.

What does the eviction procedure look like, step by step?

Under Article 93 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Rv) tenancy disputes go to the subdistrict court, whatever the amount, and start with a bailiff’s summons (dagvaarding). A lawyer is not compulsory there, though usual on the landlord’s side.

An undefended arrears case commonly takes three to five months from start to finish. Apart from the three-day minimum before the eviction, these periods are practice, not entitlement: the court sets the date to vacate in its judgment, and a defended case or one with an arrangement takes longer and often ends without eviction.

Does an appeal stop the eviction?

Usually not. An eviction judgment is normally declared provisionally enforceable (uitvoerbaar bij voorraad, Article 233 Rv), so the landlord may evict while the appeal is pending.

A tenant can ask the court of appeal to suspend enforcement, which generally requires a clear legal or factual error or an emergency the first judge could not weigh. Alternatively he can bring an enforcement dispute (executiegeschil) before the interim relief judge under Article 438 Rv, arguing that enforcement now is an abuse of right. The appeal period is three months from the judgment, but only four weeks from a kort geding judgment (Article 339 Rv).

Can an eviction order be obtained in kort geding?

Yes, but only an order to vacate: the interim relief judge (voorzieningenrechter) cannot dissolve a tenancy (Article 254 Rv onwards). It is open to a landlord where the claim is urgent and the outcome of ordinary proceedings is hardly in doubt: severe nuisance, criminal use of the property, or occupation without any title. A straightforward arrears case rarely qualifies.

For tenants, kort geding is the instrument against a landlord who has changed the locks, and for halting an announced eviction where circumstances have changed decisively since the judgment.

What about squatters, business premises and occupants without title?

Squatting is a criminal offence, and the owner can either bring a civil claim or ask the public prosecutor to clear the property. In its judgment of 28 October 2011 (ECLI:NL:HR:2011:BQ9880) the Supreme Court held that, save in exceptional circumstances, a squatter must have a real chance to have the eviction reviewed in kort geding before it goes ahead, because of the right to respect for the home in Article 8 ECHR.

Tenants of retail and hospitality premises have their own regime under Articles 7:290 and following BW; tenants of offices and other business premises fall under Article 7:230a BW, explained in our article on commercial leases under articles 290 and 230a. Such a tenant can ask the subdistrict court, within two months of the announced eviction date, to extend the period for vacating; the court can grant at most three extensions of up to one year each.

Someone with no contract at all, such as a guest who will not leave or an occupier under a lapsed anti-squat agreement, has no security of tenure, and these are the clearest kort geding cases. An arrangement labelled anti-squat is, however, sometimes found to be a tenancy after all.

What happens on the day of the eviction?

Only a court bailiff may enforce an eviction order (Articles 555 and following Rv). The bailiff may call in the police and a locksmith; the landlord arranges and pays the removers in the first instance.

Belongings left behind are removed and stored by the municipality at the cost of the party enforcing the judgment (Article 556 Rv, referring to Articles 5:29 and 5:30 of the General Administrative Law Act, Awb). Storage runs for up to thirteen weeks, after which the goods may be sold or destroyed; the former owner keeps a claim to the proceeds of a sale for three years. The landlord passes the cost on to the tenant.

An eviction can still be called off up to the last moment. Bailiffs routinely halt one where the arrears and costs are paid in full, or where the landlord accepts an arrangement and instructs suspension.

Who pays the costs of an eviction?

The claimant pays a court fee (griffierecht) fixed by the Court Fees in Civil Cases Act (Wgbz), which depends on the claim and on whether the claimant is a company, an individual or a person of limited means; the Rechtspraak publishes the current table. On top come the bailiff’s charges under the Besluit tarieven ambtshandelingen gerechtsdeurwaarders, removal, storage and legal fees.

The losing party pays a fixed-scale contribution to the winner’s legal costs, normally well below the actual cost. For the tenant, losing means arrears, interest, court and bailiff fees and removal and storage costs, and that debt survives the eviction.

Are vulnerable tenants better protected?

Having children does not give a right to stay, but it is a circumstance weighed under Article 6:265 BW. Courts often give a “last chance” judgment: dissolution and eviction are ordered, but not enforced as long as the tenant keeps to an agreed payment schedule.

Under Article 305 of the Bankruptcy Act (Faillissementswet), a landlord may not dissolve the tenancy or evict on the strength of arrears that arose before a statutory debt-restructuring arrangement (WSNP) took effect. The protection lapses if the tenant falls behind on the current rent again.

Since 1 January 2021 landlords, energy suppliers, water companies and health insurers must report payment arrears to the municipality under the Municipal Debt Assistance Act (Wet gemeentelijke schuldhulpverlening). The municipality must then offer the tenant a first conversation; housing corporations treat this as a precondition for proceedings.

What should you check as a landlord?

• Never change the locks, cut off utilities or remove belongings yourself.
• Keep the rent ledger, reminders, the demand letter, offers of an arrangement and dated complaints from neighbours.
• Send a written notice of default before you sue, with a clear period to pay.
• Report the arrears to the municipality under the early-warning rules, and keep proof.
• Check whether the tenant has applied for debt restructuring before you serve a summons.

What should you check as a tenant?

• Do not ignore the summons; attend the hearing or file a written defence, which needs no lawyer.
• Apply for municipal debt assistance at once and bring proof to the hearing.
• Pay something every month, even if you cannot pay everything.
• If the landlord has changed the locks or cut off utilities, take advice the same day.
• Note that an appeal does not stop the eviction by itself, and that the appeal period is three months.

What can we do for you with an eviction?

Our tenancy lawyers act for landlords and tenants in eviction cases:

• We review the tenancy agreement, the rent ledger and the demand letter before proceedings start.
• We draft the summons or the written defence for the subdistrict court.
• We negotiate a payment arrangement that can be recorded in the judgment.
• We start kort geding proceedings against unlawful self-help, or to obtain an order to vacate.
• We apply to suspend enforcement pending appeal, or bring an enforcement dispute under Article 438 Rv.

Summary

• Only a court can end a tenancy and authorise an eviction; a landlord who changes the locks acts unlawfully.
• Most arrears cases proceed by dissolution under Article 6:265 BW, and no fixed number of months guarantees or rules out success.
• An eviction judgment is normally enforceable at once, so an appeal will not by itself stop it.
• Belongings left behind are stored by the municipality for up to thirteen weeks, at the tenant’s ultimate cost.
• Children or a debt-restructuring arrangement weigh in the tenant’s favour, but give no automatic right to stay.

Frequently asked questions