Amendments to the Tenants and Landlords Consultation Act
On 1 January 2009 the Amended Tenants and Landlords Consultation
Act (the "Consultation Act") entered into effect. The
reason for this law amendment was the evaluation of the
Consultation Act which entered into effect at the end of 1998. The
amended Consultation Act strengthens the position of organized
occupants. Below I will summarize the most important provisions and
amendments in the Consultation Act.
More Tenants and
Tenants Organizations, More Topics
The new Consultation Act applies to more tenants and tenants
organizations than was the case in the former Consultation Act: the
Consultation Act applies to landlords who are letting 25 or more
dwellings (under the former Consultation Act this was 100 or more
dwellings). Moreover, the tenants and tenants organizations may
join the discussion about more topics. The added topics are,
amongst other things, mergers, renovations, the
acquisition/alienation/encumbrance of living accommodations, the
quality of life in the neighborhood and the restructuring of
neighborhoods or districts. The Subsidized Rented Sector Management
Decree (Besluit Beheer Sociale Huursector
("BBSH")) furthermore contained additional rights to the
Consultation Act for tenants organizations of housing corporations.
These additional rights have been transferred to the Consultation
Act and as of 1 January 2009 also apply to tenants organizations of
private landlords.
Tenants Organizations and Residents
Committees
The Consultation Act makes a distinction between tenants
organizations and residents committees with which a landlord has to
consult. A tenants organization is, in brief, an association or
foundation with the objective to attend to the tenants'
interests. The board of the organization must be elected or
designated by and from the tenants it represents. A residents
committee attends to the interests of the occupants of rented
dwellings in a particular housing complex. A residents committee
need not be an association or foundation. The condition that the
board must be elected or designated by and from the tenants it
represents does not apply in the case of residents
committees.
Right to Information, Consultation and
Advice
The landlord not only has to inform the tenants organizations
involved, but also the residents committees and individual tenants
in writing upon request about his policy and management with
respect to the topics mentioned in Section 3 subsection 2, such as
demolition, renovation, the letting policy and the policy with
regard to rents.
The Consultation Act provides tenants organizations with four
rights, namely the right to information, the right to consultation,
the right to give advice and the right to consent with regard to
changes in the policy regarding service charges.
As of 1 January 2009 residents committees also have the right to
information, consultation and advice. They have fewer rights than
tenants organizations, since they may only join the discussion
about specific plans for their housing complex.
The landlord must inform the tenants organizations and residents
committees in writing on his own initiative when he wishes to
implement changes into the policy or the management conducted by
him on the topics which have been enumerated in Section 3
subsection 2. If the landlord is of the opinion that his business
interest is being endangered, he may decide on the basis of Section
3 subsection 3 not to provide this information (yet).
The landlord may not execute a change of his policy or
management until he has given the tenants organization and/or the
residents committee the opportunity to consult about this and, if
the tenants organization and/or the residents committee so desire,
to give written advice in this regard. The time limit for giving
advice has been extended from four to six
weeks.
Implementation of the Right to Consent for
Tenants Organizations with Regard to Service Charges Policy Change
Tenants organizations (and not residents committees) have a
right to consent in the new Consultation Act regarding changes in
the policy with respect to the service charges. The consent of the
tenants organizations does not alter the fact, however, that
pursuant to Section 7:261 subsection 2 of the Dutch Civil Code
individual tenants must give their consent to the extensions of or
changes to the service charges package.
Tenants
Organizations with Tenants of Various Landlords
The new Consultation Act makes it possible that tenants
organizations represent tenants of various landlords. The
legislator does assume, however, that landlords will only be called
to account for the policy or management conducted by them by or on
behalf of their own tenants.
Extension and
Simplification of Disputes Before a Court
Any disputes arising from the Consultation Act may be submitted
to the Subdistrict Court by means of proceedings commenced by an
application. These proceedings are simpler and less formal than
proceedings commenced by a summons. The Subdistrict Court has the
power to suspend a disputed decision of the landlord until an
omission has been remedied or to rule that a decision may not be
executed. The Subdistrict Court does not substantially test the
decision of the landlord but adjudicates whether it was reasonable
that the landlord deviated from the advice, and whether the
decision of the landlord was
substantiated.
Conclusion
The new Consultation Act contains a number of important
substantial changes. The new Consultation Act strengthens the
position of organized occupants. Landlords must be aware of the
strong position of individual tenants, tenants organizations and
residents committees and of the consequences thereof. This will
eventually lead to an increase of support for changes in the living
situation.