The Fixed Lease Law was approved by the Senate on Nov. 14, 2023, and was published on Dec. 1, 2023. For a long time it remained unclear when the law would take effect, but it has now been announced that it will be on July 1, 2024.
What does the law entail?
With the enactment of the law, tenants of both independent and non-self-contained living spaces (such as rooms) will enjoy rent protection from the beginning of the lease. This means that a landlord will need a legal ground for termination to validly terminate the lease.
What are the exceptions?
The "Decree on Specific Groups of Temporary Lease Agreements" lists the exceptions to this standard. These exceptions allow certain groups of people to enter into a temporary rental agreement of up to two years, even after July 1, 2024. This temporary lease ends automatically on the agreed upon end date, provided the landlord informs the tenant between three months and one month before that end date.
The groups of people to which this exception applies are:
- Students
- Tenants temporarily living elsewhere due to urgent work or renovation of their home
- Urgent house seekers
- Tenants with a so-called second chance contract, intended for tenants whose previous lease was terminated, for example due to serious nuisance, and who are now temporarily given a second chance
- Orphans and relatives
- Divorced parents
- Tenants who work on the Wadden Islands
- Permit holders (status holders) who come directly from a COA reception location and are waiting for permanent housing
You can find the official text of the Decree on the central government website. Note that the Senate has yet to give final approval, so the text is not yet final.
This is the link: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/besluiten/2024/02/02/besluit-specifieke-groepen-tijdelijke-huurovereenkomsten-en-nvt-versie-voorhang
Although the rental market would have liked to see labor migrants added to this list as well, the legislature did not choose to do so.
What about the transitional law?
The law applies to leases entered into on or after July 1, 2024. For leases entered into before this date, the law does not apply. It is important to note that only the date the lease is entered into is leading, and not the date the lease takes effect.
