As a landlord in the Netherlands, your obligations come down to one principle: you must make the property available and keep it fit for the agreed use. That means handing it over in good order, fixing defects that affect that use once the tenant has reported them, and not disturbing the tenant’s enjoyment of the property.
Two limits matter. Minor day-to-day repairs are for the tenant, not you, and which repairs count as “minor” follows a government list rather than the lease. Your repair duty only starts once you know about the defect – in practice, once the tenant has reported it – and that report is also the moment from which a rent reduction can start running.
What must you make available as a landlord?
Article 7:203 BW obliges you, as landlord, to make the rented property available to the tenant and to keep it available for as long as the agreed use requires.
This duty follows from the starting point of Dutch tenancy law: the tenant may expect the enjoyment that the rental agreement promises. Alongside this availability duty, Article 7:204 BW adds a maintenance duty covering defects, discussed below.
The agreed use can cover:
- independent or non-self-contained living space;
- retail space;
- other business space and offices, which fall under the separate regime of Article 7:230a BW.
What counts as “available” depends on what the lease says about the intended use. Whether you have met this obligation is judged against what you and the tenant described in the lease about the destination of the property. It therefore pays to state the intended use precisely in the contract, and to spell out in more detail what the tenant may reasonably expect on that basis – the outcome of a dispute often turns on exactly this.
In practice, this covers the basic facilities a tenant needs to use the property in that specific way.
When does a property have a defect?
A defect, under Article 7:204 BW, is a condition, feature, or other circumstance not attributable to the tenant that stops the property giving the tenant the enjoyment a tenant may expect from a well-maintained property of that kind. Article 7:206 BW then obliges you to repair it once the tenant asks.
Case law reads “enjoyment” broadly: it can cover more than just the physical condition of the property or its material properties. Other circumstances that limit the tenant’s enjoyment can also amount to a defect, such as the property’s expected accessibility or outward appearance.
Even so, a tenant cannot expect more than a well-maintained property, and what counts as well-maintained differs by type of rented property, according to case law.
Under Article 7:204 BW, the following are not defects:
- a circumstance attributable to the tenant on the basis of fault or risk – for example, a minor issue that the legal risk allocation puts on the tenant;
- a circumstance relating to the tenant personally, such as an unusually low tolerance for everyday living noise from other tenants;
- an actual disturbance by third parties without any claim of right, such as traffic noise or noise from a terrace next door;
- a claimed right without any actual disturbance – for example, a neighbour who merely claims a right of way through the tenant’s garden without using it.
What can you do if your landlord falls short?
If you, as landlord, fail to make the property available on time, in full, or at all, or if there is a defect, that is a shortcoming on your part, and it gives the tenant a number of remedies against you, such as the claim of:
- Repair. The tenant can ask you to make the property available on time and in full, or to fix the defect. You must do so unless that is impossible or would require expense that cannot reasonably be asked of you (Article 7:206(1) BW). Until the tenant has made that request, you are not yet obliged to act, and you may still remedy the defect yourself in the meantime. If you then refuse the repair, or fail to carry it out in time, the tenant may arrange the repair and deduct the reasonable cost from the rent; this protection cannot be excluded to the tenant’s disadvantage (Article 7:206(3) BW).
- Reduction of the rent. This runs from the day the tenant properly reported the defect, for as long as it lasts (Article 7:207 BW). The tenant can claim it from the court, or, for many regulated residential tenancies, from the Rent Tribunal (Huurcommissie). If the Rent Tribunal is asked to step in, it can only backdate the reduction by up to six months before the request was filed, so reporting and filing promptly matters.
- Termination of the tenancy agreement if enjoyment becomes entirely impossible. If a defect that the landlord does not have to remedy – for example because repair is impossible or requires expense that cannot reasonably be asked of them – makes the enjoyment the tenant could expect completely impossible, both tenant and landlord may dissolve the lease, by a written, out-of-court statement (Article 7:210 BW). In practice, not every party agrees with the dissolution, so the matter can still end up in court.
- Compensation. This claim is only available if the shortcoming, such as a defect, can also be attributed to the landlord. That applies, for example, if the defect arose after the lease began because the landlord did not maintain the property adequately, or if a defect already existed when the lease was signed and the landlord knew about it, should have known about it, or told the tenant the property did not have it.
Not sure whether your landlord is meeting these obligations, or what to do about a defect that has not been fixed? Our real estate lawyers can review your lease and the situation with you.
In summary
- You must make the property available for the agreed use (Article 7:203 BW) and repair defects once the tenant has reported them (Article 7:206 BW).
- A defect is any condition not attributable to the tenant that limits the enjoyment a tenant may reasonably expect (Article 7:204 BW).
- If you fall short, the tenant can demand repair, claim a rent reduction, or, where enjoyment becomes entirely impossible, dissolve the lease (Article 7:210 BW).
- A rent reduction only starts running from the date of proper notice, and Rent Tribunal cases can only be backdated up to six months.
- Compensation is only due if the shortcoming can be attributed to you as landlord.
Frequently asked questions
Can a tenant simply stop paying rent if I do not fix a defect?
No. The tenant cannot withhold rent unilaterally. Instead, the tenant can claim a proportional rent reduction, or, after giving you the chance to repair, arrange the repair and deduct the reasonable cost from the rent (Article 7:206(3) BW).
Who is responsible for small, everyday repairs?
Minor day-to-day repairs are for the tenant, not the landlord, under the regulation the law refers to for this purpose – not whatever the lease happens to say.
What if I refuse to make the property available at all?
The tenant can demand compliance through the court, alongside a rent reduction or, if that makes enjoyment entirely impossible, dissolution of the lease under Article 7:210 BW.
Should a tenant report a defect in a particular way?
The law does not prescribe a form, but a clear, written notice matters in practice: it fixes the date the landlord is treated as knowing about the defect, and that date is also the starting point for both the repair duty and any rent reduction. Keeping a copy, with photos where relevant, makes the report easier to prove later.
If a landlord fails to meet these obligations, there are several routes open to the tenant. Our tenancy lawyers can set out which one fits the situation.
What a landlord may charge in deposit and service charges, and what must be accounted for, is covered in our article on deposits and service charges.
Unsure where you stand? Tell us about your situation. We will let you know your options within one working day.
