Filing a complaint with the Rent Tribunal is likely to pay off

It is worth contacting the Rent Tribunal (Huurcommissie) if you feel you are paying excessive rent or service charges. In eight out of ten cases, room tenants were fully vindicated, reports news agency ANP.

Since 2019, the Rent Tribunal has ruled in around 4,900 cases brought by room tenants in shared apartments, reports ANP. Many cases involved students, with most grievances reported from Utrecht, Groningen and Amsterdam. The Rent Tribunal ruled in favour of landlords in a mere 10 percent of cases.

The Rent Tribunal occasionally grants substantial rent decreases. In August, for example, the rent for a room in Rotterdam decreased from more than 600 euros to just under 250 euros per month. Most rulings concerned disputed service charges, however. A tenant of a room in Nijmegen was handed a final settlement of more than 1,250 euros for 2021. The Rent Tribunal decided last June that this should have been 340 euros.

Reluctant

According to the Dutch Student Union (LSVb), many students are reluctant to contact the Rent Tribunal. They often have a fixed-term lease and are afraid it will not be renewed if they challenge their rent.

To lower the threshold for contacting the Rent Tribunal, LSVb advises students first to contact a rental team in their own municipality. They can assess the situation free of any obligation.