Rent review is the procedure in which the rent for business premises is redetermined on the basis of rents for comparable local premises. It is available to both the tenant and the landlord of retail business premises.
Legal basis
Article 7:303 of the Dutch Civil Code confers the right to seek a new rent: for a fixed-term lease at the end of that term, and thereafter whenever at least five years have passed since the last determination. The yardstick is the average rent of comparable local business premises over the preceding five years, corrected for general developments. Article 7:304 requires the parties first to try to resolve matters together and, failing that, to appoint an expert jointly; if they cannot agree, the subdistrict court appoints one. That expert’s advice is a condition of admissibility. The new rent applies from the date of the application to the court, unless the court decides otherwise.
How it works in practice
The outcome turns almost entirely on the choice of comparable premises. Comparability concerns location, floor area, layout, accessibility and permitted use. Both parties therefore put forward their own comparators; the expert weighs them and corrects for differences. Because a five-year period is examined, a fall or rise in the market feeds through with delay.
Where it goes wrong
Parties go to court without expert advice and are declared inadmissible. A second error is filing the application late, so that the new rent takes effect later than it could have. Third, improvements financed by the tenant are taken into account in the valuation, when in principle they should be left out.
Related terms
The procedure belongs with the lease of retail business premises and connects to substitution of tenant.
Paying too much or too little rent? Our real estate lawyers guide the appointment of the expert and the proceedings.
