Legal guides

Practical guides to Dutch law, arranged by area of law: from employment and corporate law to family law, immigration, criminal law and real estate. Written by the lawyers of Law & More in Eindhoven and Amsterdam.

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Overhead view of laptop copying terms and conditions from website, warning visualization of legal risks when copying from internet
Civil Law

Copying general terms and conditions: the legal risks in the Netherlands

Copying another company’s general terms and conditions (algemene voorwaarden) is risky under Dutch law on three separate grounds: copyright, unlawful act and the validity of the terms themselves. The exception is short standard phrasing, which is too generic for copyright

Open blue register book with a fountain pen and company stamp on a desk
Business Law

Shareholders’ register: what must it contain and what do you do if it is lost?

Every private limited company (bv) and public limited company (nv) must keep a shareholders’ register

  • Reading time: 4 min
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Furnished canal-house apartment with a suitcase and house keys by the door, ready for a temporary tenant
Real Estate Law

Diplomat clause: how do you rent out your home temporarily and get it back?

With a diplomat clause (diplomatenclausule), you agree in the tenancy agreement that you will rent

  • Reading time: 5 min
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Tenant replacing a tap part above the kitchen sink, with a toolbox in the background
Real Estate Law

Minor Repairs Decree: which maintenance is for the tenant and which is for the landlord?

The tenant of a home carries out and pays for the minor repairs (kleine herstellingen)

  • Reading time: 5 min
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Empty boardroom table with leather folders and glasses of water after a shareholders meeting
Business Law

Discharge (décharge): what does it mean and what does it protect a director against?

When the general meeting grants discharge (décharge), it declares that the company will not hold

  • Reading time: 5 min
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An empty, newly built rental apartment with an oak floor and keys on the window sill overlooking a canal.
Real Estate Law

Mid-market rent: which rules apply and how much may the rent be?

Mid-market rent (middenhuur) applies to a self-contained rental home with 144 to 186 points under

  • Reading time: 6 min
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A cleared office desk with a cardboard box, a plant and a coat over the chair on an overcast day.
Employment Law

Leaving employment while sick: what it means and what you need to arrange

Leaving employment while sick (ziek uit dienst) means your employment contract ends while you are

  • Reading time: 7 min
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An empty wooden bench in a quiet courthouse corridor with tall windows and soft daylight.
Criminal Law

Sexual assault: what is punishable under the Sexual Offences Act?

Sexual assault (aanranding) means performing sexual acts that do not involve sexual penetration with someone

  • Reading time: 7 min
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Stack of contract documents and a fountain pen on a conference table
Civil Law

Framework agreement: what do you record, and what not?

A framework agreement (raamovereenkomst) sets the terms for future orders, such as prices, delivery times

  • Reading time: 5 min
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Two sets of house keys on a kitchen table on either side of a closed grey folder
Family Law

Contribution agreement: who pays the mortgage after divorce?

A contribution agreement (draagplichtovereenkomst) governs the relationship between you and your ex-partner: who ultimately bears

  • Reading time: 5 min
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Empty meeting room with two office chairs on opposite sides of a long wooden table
Employment Law

Disrupted working relationship: dismissal on the g-ground

Can a Dutch employer dismiss an employee because the working relationship has broken down? Yes,

  • Reading time: 7 min
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Modern open-plan office with desks and monitors and large windows overlooking a canal
Immigration Law

The single permit (GVVA): hiring employees from outside the EU

If you want an employee from outside the European Union to work in the Netherlands

  • Reading time: 3 min
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Two closed passports on a wooden desk next to a pen and a folder
Immigration Law

Dual citizenship in the Netherlands: when can you keep two passports?

If you become Dutch through naturalisation, you must in principle give up your current nationality.

  • Reading time: 3 min
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