Almost every international who rents in the Netherlands pays a deposit, and many worry at the end of the tenancy whether they will see it again. Since the Wet goed verhuurderschap (Good Landlordship Act) came into force on 1 July 2023 the rules have become clearer: there is a ceiling on the deposit, a deadline for repaying it, and a duty to explain in writing anything withheld. This article sets out what the law says about deposits, service charges and agency fees, and what each side can do in a dispute.
The deposit: how much a landlord may ask
Under the general rules of conduct in article 2 of the Wet goed verhuurderschap, and the provision inserted into article 261b of Book 7 of the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek), a landlord may not require a deposit (waarborgsom) of more than twice the bare rent. “Bare rent” (kale huur) is the rent for the accommodation itself, excluding service charges, utilities and any furniture supplement.
The ceiling was introduced with the Act on 1 July 2023, and larger deposits agreed under older contracts are still met in practice. A tenant on such a contract should not assume the sum is beyond challenge. Long before the ceiling existed, subdistrict courts were striking down excessive deposits as an unreasonable benefit under article 264 of Book 7 of the Dutch Civil Code: the Rechtbank Noord-Holland annulled a six-month deposit on 5 August 2015 (ECLI:NL:RBNHO:2015:6660), holding in terms that a deposit of more than twice the monthly rent is not reasonable, and the Rechtbank Amsterdam cut a deposit of over four months’ rent back to two on 4 March 2019 (ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2019:1490). Those are first-instance decisions rather than binding authority, and no reported decision appears yet to have applied the good-landlordship standard to a deposit agreed before July 2023. That older line is nonetheless the argument to make.
If a landlord asks for more, the tenant need not pay the excess, can demand repayment of anything overpaid, and the municipality can enforce. Note that “two months’ deposit plus one month’s rent in advance” is not a three-month deposit: rent paid in advance is rent, not security. A non-refundable “administration fee” alongside the deposit is not permitted at all.
Getting the deposit back: the two deadlines
The Act sets two deadlines, and the difference between them is the point most often misunderstood.
- Where the landlord deducts nothing, the deposit must be repaid within fourteen days of the end of the tenancy.
- Where the landlord does deduct something, the period is thirty days from the end of the tenancy. The longer period exists so that the landlord can inspect, quantify and document the deduction.
A landlord who deducts must give the tenant a written specification of what is withheld and why, with a full breakdown. A bare assertion that “damage has been found” does not satisfy the duty, and its absence is itself a breach. The thirty-day period is not a licence to delay: a landlord who cannot yet price a repair should repay the undisputed balance and specify what remains in issue.
What may and may not be deducted
Permitted deductions are limited: unpaid rent, unpaid service charges, the fee for an agreed energy performance measure, and damage caused by the tenant. Ordinary wear and tear falls outside the list, and “administration costs” cannot be deducted merely because the agreement says so.
| May generally be deducted | May not be deducted |
|---|---|
| Rent arrears at the end of the tenancy | Ordinary wear and tear (normale slijtage): faded paint, worn carpet, small nail holes |
| Unpaid service charges, or a shortfall shown by the annual statement | Standing administration, contract or handling fees not tied to an actual loss |
| The agreed fee for an energy performance measure | Repairs falling on the landlord as owner, including structural and exterior maintenance |
| Damage attributable to the tenant: burns, breakages, stains, unauthorised alterations not reinstated, removal of items left behind | Redecoration simply to re-let, and costs the landlord cannot evidence or did not specify in writing in time |
The line between damage and wear is where most disputes live. Under article 218 of Book 7 of the Civil Code the tenant is liable for damage caused by a failure attributable to the tenant, and damage is presumed to be so caused, with exceptions for fire and, for built immovable property, damage to the exterior. That presumption is real, but it operates alongside article 224 — which is where the inspection report becomes decisive.
The inspection report, and what happens when there is none
Article 224 of Book 7 of the Civil Code provides that where the parties drew up a written description of the property at the start, the tenant must return it in the condition recorded there, apart from lawful alterations and anything that has deteriorated through ageing or normal use. Where no such description was drawn up, the tenant is presumed to have received the property in the condition it is in at the end of the tenancy, subject to the landlord’s right to prove the contrary.
The practical effect is stark. With a signed check-in report and dated photographs, a landlord who finds a scorched worktop can point to the report and show the change. Without one, the starting point is that the property was already in its present state, and the landlord must displace that presumption with other evidence. A landlord who skipped the check-in inspection frequently finds the deduction cannot be sustained.
Service charges and advance payments
Service charges (servicekosten) are payable on top of the bare rent for goods and services connected with occupying the property: cleaning of communal areas, a caretaker, communal lighting, garden maintenance, the use of furniture. They are almost always billed as a monthly advance payment (voorschot) and settled against actual costs.
Under article 259 of Book 7 of the Civil Code the landlord must give the tenant an itemised annual statement of the actual costs and how they were calculated, within six months of the end of the calendar year — in practice by 1 July. Where the tenancy ends mid-year, it covers the expired part of the year. Under article 261 an advance may be raised only where new goods or services have been agreed, or following a statement, and each statement supports one increase only. Article 260 allows either party to ask the Huurcommissie to determine what is payable.
Service charges are a pass-through of actual costs, not a profit centre. Some items may not be charged as service charges at all: care services such as meals or alarm services, and charges falling on the owner rather than the occupier, such as property tax. Charges falling on the occupier, such as the waste levy, may be passed on. Heat supply is governed separately by the Warmtewet.
Utilities are different again. Where the property has its own meters, gas, water and electricity are ordinarily contracted by the tenant directly, or supplied by the landlord and settled on metered consumption; they are utility charges (nutsvoorzieningen), not service charges. An “all-in” rent lumping everything into one figure can be split into its components on request.
New rules from 1 January 2027
The Wet modernisering servicekosten enters into force on 1 January 2027, with the Besluit servicekosten and the Regeling servicekosten. It replaces the current open-ended approach with a closed list of eight categories of chargeable service costs, confirms that only actual costs may be charged and no profit taken, and sets out how they are calculated. The enumeration in the Besluit servicekosten is exhaustive, and the final statement must reach the tenant by 1 July following the calendar year to which it relates. Communal gyms and swimming pools fall outside the list. The Huurcommissie’s review powers are widened. The rules apply to agreements entered into from 1 January 2027, and a landlord may apply them to existing tenancies with the tenant’s agreement.
Agency fees and the ban on double charging
The Wet goed verhuurderschap prohibits landlords and letting intermediaries from charging double agency fees — taking a fee from both landlord and tenant for the same transaction. This sits on top of the older rule in articles 417 and 427 of Book 7 of the Civil Code: an agent acting for the landlord is not entitled to a fee from the tenant. If the property is on the agent’s own books, the tenant should be paying nothing at all.
Contract costs and key money (sleutelgeld) may not be charged to a tenant. A landlord may charge for something the tenant actually benefits from, such as a name plate at the door, and a tenant may buy items from the outgoing tenant at an agreed price (overnamekosten), but neither is a route for reintroducing a letting fee. A tenant properly pays a fee only where they have themselves engaged a search agent who works independently of landlords and finds accommodation outside that agent’s portfolio. Fees paid contrary to these rules can be reclaimed.
The Wet goed verhuurderschap beyond the deposit
The Act is broader than money. Article 2 sets out national rules of conduct for every landlord and letting intermediary. They require the landlord to:
- refrain from discrimination in selecting tenants, and use a transparent selection procedure;
- refrain from intimidation, which includes threatening to withhold repairs, cut off services or keep the deposit to pressure a tenant;
- record the tenancy in a written agreement;
- inform the tenant in writing, in a language the tenant understands, of their rights and obligations — how the deposit works and when it will be returned, how service charges are settled, the landlord’s contact details and the municipal reporting point (the information duty). The language requirement is not confined to labour migrants, so for an international tenant this means in practice that the information must be given in English;
- observe the deposit ceiling and the service charge rules, and charge no double agency fees;
- observe extra rules where the tenant is an EU labour migrant, including a tenancy agreement separate from the employment contract and the required information in a language the worker understands.
Article 3 requires landlords and intermediaries letting in the course of a business to have a written working method for preventing housing discrimination, and to publish and apply it.
The municipal reporting point and enforcement
Since 1 January 2024 every municipality must operate a reporting point (meldpunt) under article 4: low-threshold, free, and open to anonymous reports about undesirable letting conduct. Eindhoven and Amsterdam both operate one. A report is not a claim for money — the meldpunt will not order your deposit repaid — but it triggers the municipality’s supervisory role.
Enforcement escalates. A first breach usually attracts a warning, stating that a further breach may lead to a fine and publication of the offender’s details. Repeated or serious breaches can be met with an order subject to a penalty payment (last onder dwangsom) or administrative coercion, and with fines, higher for repeat offenders: the maximum is a fine of the fourth category, €22,500, rising to €25,750 and, for legal persons that reoffend, to €103,000 under article 19 of the Wet goed verhuurderschap. As a last resort the municipality can take over the management of the property. Under article 5 it may also require a letting permit in designated areas.
Which route to take
Tenants and landlords often pick the wrong forum and lose months. The three routes serve different purposes and may be used in parallel.
| Route | Use it for | What it delivers |
|---|---|---|
| Municipal reporting point | Breaches of the rules of conduct: excessive deposit, no written specification, no annual statement, discrimination, intimidation, double agency fees | Supervision and enforcement, including warnings and fines. Awards no money |
| Huurcommissie | Service charges and utility advance payments, the rent level, maintenance defects and all-in rents | A binding decision on the amount payable, unless a party goes to court; a modest fee applies |
| Subdistrict court (kantonrechter) | Recovery of the deposit, damages, disputed deductions, reclaiming unlawful fees, and anything outside the Huurcommissie’s remit | An enforceable judgment for payment, with interest and, in principle, costs |
A deposit claim belongs, if it cannot be settled, before the subdistrict court; proceedings there do not require a lawyer. Service charge disputes are the Huurcommissie’s territory and much cheaper: the fee (leges) is €25 for a tenant or other natural person, while a landlord or other legal person pays from €300 per application. After a Huurcommissie decision a dissatisfied party may issue a summons before the subdistrict court within eight weeks; where the chair decided alone, an objection (verzet) may be lodged within three weeks.
Time limits
For service charges, article 260 of Book 7 of the Civil Code allows a request to the Huurcommissie covering no more than twelve months per cost category, made within twenty-four months of the expiry of the period in which the annual statement should have been provided. Miss that window and the Huurcommissie route closes.
A claim to repayment of the deposit is an ordinary claim for performance, subject to the five-year limitation period in article 307 of Book 3 of the Civil Code. Five years is generous, but delay costs evidence, so demand payment in writing promptly; a demand also interrupts limitation.
Practical guidance
For tenants
- Before signing, check the deposit against two months’ bare rent and query any contract, administration or letting fee.
- Insist on a check-in report (opnamestaat) signed by both parties, take dated photographs of every room, and record meter readings.
- Keep proof of payment of the deposit and every service charge advance, and give the landlord your new address and bank details in writing when you leave.
- Diarise 1 July for last year’s service charge statement, and note the twenty-four month window.
- If the deadline passes, send a written demand with a short, clear period for payment; if that fails, report to the meldpunt and consider court proceedings.
For landlords
- Bring your documents into line: a written agreement, plus an information sheet covering the deposit, service charges, your contact details and the meldpunt — in English where you let to internationals.
- Never take more than two months’ bare rent on a new letting, and do not turn the excess into a fee.
- Inspect at the start and at the end, in writing and preferably with the tenant present.
- Repay within fourteen days where you deduct nothing; where you deduct, repay the undisputed balance and send a full written breakdown within thirty days, with invoices behind it. Do not charge for wear and tear or routine redecoration.
- Send the annual statement by 1 July, itemised and based on actual costs, and prepare for the closed list taking effect on 1 January 2027.
Can a landlord in the Netherlands withhold my deposit?
Only for limited reasons: rent arrears, unpaid service charges, an agreed energy performance fee, and damage you caused beyond normal wear and tear. Anything withheld must be explained in a written specification with a full breakdown, sent within thirty days of the end of the tenancy. A landlord who withholds without a specification, or for wear and tear, is in breach.
How much deposit can a landlord ask for?
For agreements concluded on or after 1 July 2023, no more than twice the bare rent — the rent excluding service charges, utilities and furniture supplements. The ceiling moves with your rent rather than being a fixed euro amount. If you were asked for more, you need not pay the excess and can reclaim it.
When must my deposit be returned?
Within fourteen days of the end of the tenancy if the landlord deducts nothing. If the landlord does deduct, the period is thirty days and the deduction must be accompanied by a written specification. The longer period is for quantifying and evidencing the deduction, not for postponing payment: the undisputed part should still be repaid.
What if there was no inspection report when I moved in?
The law then presumes you received the property in the condition it is in at the end of the tenancy, so the landlord cannot simply assert that damage is yours. The landlord may still prove otherwise, using earlier photographs or a contractor’s evidence, but that is often hard. Where a signed check-in report exists, it is the benchmark.
My landlord has never sent a service charge statement. What can I do?
The landlord must provide an itemised annual statement within six months of the end of the calendar year, so by 1 July. Ask for it in writing first. If it does not come, or the figures look wrong, you can ask the Huurcommissie to determine what is payable — per cost category, over up to twelve months, and within twenty-four months of the deadline for the statement. You can also report the failure to the meldpunt.
Should I go to the Huurcommissie or to court about my deposit?
To court. The Huurcommissie decides rent, maintenance and service charge disputes; it does not award repayment of a deposit. That claim goes before the subdistrict court, which can give an enforceable judgment with interest. Reporting the landlord to the meldpunt in parallel is often worthwhile, because enforcement pressure sometimes secures payment without proceedings.
