Huurteam: ‘If in doubt, just make an appointment’

It is nothing new that students are struggling in this housing market. However, there have been new developments in recent years that should benefit tenants. For example, on 1 July 2023, the Good Landlord Act came into force, allowing tenants to report bad landlords. In addition, on 1 July 2024, the Fixed-Term Tenancy Act and the Affordable Rent Act came into force, abolishing temporary tenancy agreements and setting maximum rents for rooms and properties.

However, these developments have not yet had the desired effect on student tenants. As a result of the Affordable Rent Act, many property owners sold their properties because they were not making enough profit. In 2024, 71 per cent more rental properties were sold than in the previous year. A number of students ended up on the street and there were fewer rooms to rent. Students can also be exempted from the Fixed-Term Tenancy Act, which means that landlords can still offer them temporary contracts. 

Huurteam

If you want to know whether you are paying too much for a room or have problems with your landlord or rental contract, you can seek help from the Huurteam Utrecht (rental team), among others. Fewer students are knocking on their door than in previous years, says Eva Luijendijk. She is team manager of Huurteams at Steenvlinder, an organisation that promotes the rights of residents and tenants, with its head office in Rotterdam. Since January 2024, municipalities have been required to have a centre where tenants can go with problems. However, municipalities sometimes do not know what to do with the complaints they receive. Many municipalities therefore call in rental teams, such as Steenvlinder, to provide tenants with advice and assistance.

Luijendijk is surprised that fewer students are coming to them, as new laws seem to be affecting students more in practice. "We want everyone to be able to rent properly," she says, "and for that, students need to know where to find us and feel comfortable approaching us." 

Eva Luijendijk from Huurteam, photo Huurteam

Landlord sells property
Rive, a Fine Arts student at the HKU, says that she was aware of the Huurteam, but chose to deal with her landlord herself. She had to move out because her temporary contract was expiring and her landlord was selling the property. This led to a number of frustrations surrounding the handover of the house. "We had to strip the entire house and hand it over empty, even though students had been living there for the previous ten years. But otherwise we wouldn't get our deposit back," she says. Although this was not mentioned anywhere in the contract, they did what the landlord asked because it seemed like the easiest option. 

Luijendijk advises people to contact the Huurteam if they are in doubt. It is free of charge and there are no obligations. Whether it concerns vague contracts, excessive rent, poor maintenance or the deposit, the Huurteam will try to obtain the necessary information to determine what tenants are entitled to. 

"Students most often come to us about excessive rent and poor maintenance," says Luijendijk. But there are also many other rights that many students are unaware of. “For example, you can get a temporary rent reduction for a poorly maintained property until the landlord has done the necessary maintenance,” she explains. With a fixed contract, you also have the right to continue living in your property, even if your landlord sells it, says Christina Keers-Cassa, administrative assistant at Huurteam. "What we often see is that a landlord often offers a second temporary contract after the first temporary contract expires. But that's not allowed. A temporary contract automatically becomes a permanent contract," says Keers-Cassa. “A lot of students don't know that.” 

Permanent and temporary contracts in one house
Jeroen, a medical student in Utrecht, recognises this situation. In the building where he lives, he is the only one with a permanent rental contract, but all his housemates have temporary rental contracts. Jeroen was well aware of his rights thanks to contact with a 'huurdokter', an organisation similar to a rental team. ‘Among other things, we were dealing with excessive rent. We managed to get that reduced. At one point, our landlord also charged us bizarrely high costs for gas, water and electricity, which we also confronted him about.’ Keers-Cassa says that this trick is common, with landlords unjustifiably charging service or gas, water and electricity costs. "But a tenant has the right to access the meter cupboard to check consumption." 

Once the Huurteam has the necessary information about the rental situation, they send an advisory letter with an authorisation form. If the tenant signs it, the Huurteam will approach the landlord to resolve the issues.

Of course, there are also many landlords of student houses who do carry out maintenance, photo DUB

‘Huurcommissie’ as the next step

If the landlord does not respond to the Huurteam, a case is brought before the Huurcommissie, a rent assessment committee. This is a body that assesses disputes between tenants and landlords. Its ruling is binding.

Kiki, a student of Social Geography & Planning in Utrecht, has experience with the Rent Assessment Committee. Her rooms and those of her housemates were rented out at excessive rents, were very poorly maintained and were rented out illegally through temporary contracts. The landlord did not want to be tied down because he "wanted to renovate soon", Kiki says. In 2023, they sought help, which led to a case with the Huurcommissie via the Huurteam. "In the end, after we moved out, we all received a substantial amount of compensation," says Kiki. 

If the Huurteam or the Huurcommissie cannot reach an agreement with the landlord, it is up to the municipality to enforce the law. The Huurteam can also advise the municipality in this regard.

Students bear the brunt
In this housing market, however, students will continue to have a difficult time. Because students often still get temporary contracts, landlords can get away with a lot without too many consequences. Jeroen says that students often accept poor rental situations. If you make a fuss, a landlord can get you to leave fairly quickly and there are plenty of other students queuing up for your room. "Students take what they can get", says Jeroen. For example, Rive recently accepted a temporary contract out of necessity, even though she believed she was entitled to a permanent contract. 

Legal proceedings can also take a long time. Especially if the case has to go to the rent assessment committee, it can easily take several months before you hear anything at all. Since students often only live in their accommodation for a short time, it sometimes doesn't seem worth the effort. 

Nevertheless, Eva Luijendijk advises students to make an appointment if they are in doubt. It is not unusual to seek help with all the different laws, changes in legislation and hidden pitfalls. It can sometimes be very difficult to find out what you are entitled to, she says. That's why the Huurteam is there. ‘You often think you're fine, but there are so many snags that students are often unaware of. So just have it checked, it's free, and we don't do anything without the tenant's permission.’
 

National housing demonstration

On Saturday 10 May, the national housing demonstration Huur Omlaag (Rent Down) will take place in Utrecht, organised by a coalition of tenants‘ organisations, residents’ groups, activists and political parties. The demand is to freeze all rents, regardless of how much you pay, and to tackle the housing crisis.

In the spring memorandum, it was agreed not to increase rents in the social sector this year and next. This agreement does not apply to higher rents. The organisers are demanding that these rents also be frozen for a period of one year. Housing associations that lose income as a result should be compensated by the government. Otherwise, they will have insufficient funds to make their properties more sustainable or to build new ones.

The demonstration will start at 2 p.m. on Domplein. Several speakers will address the crowd, after which there will be a march through the city. There will also be an information market. The demonstration will end at 5 p.m.