Other business premises, known in practice as 230a space, covers all business premises that are not retail premises: offices, warehouses, consulting rooms, factories and garages. The tenant has no security of tenure, but does have eviction protection.
Legal basis
Article 7:230a of the Dutch Civil Code contains the regime. If the landlord gives notice, the lease simply ends; the tenant may, however, within two months of the date by which possession is demanded, ask the subdistrict court to extend the period for vacating. The court may extend it by up to a year at a time, to a maximum of three years in total. The test is a balancing of interests: the tenant’s interest in continued use against the landlord’s in obtaining possession. The court does not review whether the notice was justified; only the period is at issue. For mixed lettings, such as a shop with a flat above, the predominant element determines the regime, as follows from Article 7:290(3) and from the case law on mixed contracts.
How it works in practice
Because the statutory protection is limited, the contract carries the weight: the term, the renewal structure, the notice period and whether early termination is possible. The Dutch Real Estate Council model is almost always used and is markedly landlord-friendly. For a tenant the negotiating points are usually the break option, indexation, service charges and the condition on hand-back.
Where it goes wrong
Tenants let the two-month period for the extension request lapse and must vacate after all. A second error is misclassifying the premises: a collection point or a showroom can in some circumstances be 290 retail space, with far stronger protection. Third, the hand-back obligation is underestimated, which under older models can go a long way.
Related terms
This category contrasts with retail business premises, and connects to service charges and to eviction.
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