Dutch Vacancy Act  

If your house is (going to be) up for sale, you may also choose to rent out the property without the tenant being able to appeal to important and often inconvenient rights from rent law.  In this case, we are talking about short-term tenancy under the Dutch Vacancy Act.

What does the law state?

The Dutch ‘Leegstandswet’ (Dutch Vacancy Act; law of 21 May 1981, Staatsblad 337) provides the possibility to temporarily rent out vacant properties that at the time of submitting the request:

• is intended to be demolished or reconstructed;
• is put up for sale by the owner who was the occupant the year before the vacancy.

This requires a permit from the Mayor and City Council members.  The Dienst Wonen (Housing department) is the competent authority in Amsterdam that grants the permits.

In this explanation, we limit our information to short-term tenancy at the time of sale.

Property up for sale by the owner/occupant can be temporarily rented out with a temporary rental permit for at least six months up to a maximum of 5 years.  In case of intended sale, the permit cannot be issued.
If the requested permit is granted, articles 206 paragraph 3, 232, 242, 269 paragraph 1 and 2, 270, 271 paragraphs 4 through 8, 272 through 277, 278 paragraphs 1 and 2 and 281 of Book 7 of the Dutch Civil Code do not apply. This means the temporary tenant is not entitled to rent protection. Instead, strict regulations apply regarding rent protection on the basis of article 16 of the Dutch Vacancy Act.

The short-term tenancy contract should state the number of the permit.
A short-term tenancy agreement may be concluded for a period of at least six months.
The notice for the temporary tenant is at least one month.
The notice for the landlord is at least three months.

Fees are due for the consideration of the application.
By submitting the request, it will be processed and certain fees will be payable, even if the permit is not granted. If the permit is not granted, restitution of no more than 25% of the fees due may be refunded. The applicant will receive an invoice as soon as the request has been taken into consideration.

The procedure

JLG Real Estate can submit your request for you.  One major advantage while renting out under the Dutch Vacancy Act is that rent can be determined at one’s own discretion.  This means you are not bound to the maximum rent in conformity with the Property Valuation System.

JLG can only start the process of finding a suitable candidate once the permit has been granted, not before.  JLG Real Estate cannot provide any guarantee that the requested rent will be accepted.

Sale of the property

The number one condition to rent out under the Dutch Vacancy Act is intended sale.  For that reason, your property needs to be put up for sale by JLG Real Estate, at a reasonable price.  JLG Real Estate will actually attempt to sell the property as long as the property is not being rented out. Everything is in accordance with that which was defined and agreed upon in the service contract for sales (Opdracht tot Dienstverlening bij Verkoop).

The costs

For the application of the permit and start-up costs for the sales and rent, a one-time payment is due that amounts to 350 Euros, including 21% VAT.  Upon the conclusion of a tenancy agreement or sale, the standard commission applies as defined in the relevant service contract.  No cancellation fees are due.