Rental complaints office: a complaint about your landlord

The Good Landlordship Act sets clear rules that landlords must follow. If a landlord doesn't comply with these rules, you can report this to the municipality.

The law gives municipalities more power than before to tackle undesirable rental practices. Undesirable behaviour includes, for example, housing discrimination, intimidation, unreasonable service charges, and asking for an excessively high security deposit.

Are you renting a home from a private landlord? Does your landlord not comply to the rules? Then file your complaint using our online complaint form.

Do you rent from a housing association or corporation?

Housing associations (corporations) must also comply with the Good Landlordship Act and the Affordable Rent Act. If you rent from a housing association, you should report your complaint to them directly. The association or corporation will handle your complaint.

If you cannot resolve the issue with the landlord, then the information in the section “Is your complaint about something else?” applies.

The municipality does not handle reports about housing associations. However, we still want to know what is going on. If we receive many complaints about a corporation, we will address this in our discussions with them. So, you are always allowed to report issues concerning a corporation.

What situations can you report?

You can submit a complaint in the following situations:

• Your landlord doesn't have a clear procedure for finding and selecting new tenants. Such a procedure is intended to prevent housing discrimination.
• Your landlord intimidates you, physically or in writing. For example, by threatening to terminate the lease or cut off electricity.
• Your landlord asks for a security deposit higher than twice the basic rent. This rule has been in effect since July 1, 2023. The landlord must also return the deposit within 14 days after you move out.
• Your landlord refuses to draw up a written rental contract. As of July 1, 2023, landlords are required to put all agreements in writing.
• Your landlord doesn't provide information about your rights and obligations as a tenant. When you sign your contract, your landlord must also give you information in writing about relevant matters, such as when they are allowed to enter the property (only in emergencies).
• Your landlord charges unreasonable service costs. These are additional costs on top of the basic rent, for example for cleaning and maintenance. These costs must be documented in writing, and each year the landlord must show how the money was spent. In case the landlord spent less than you paid, the remainder must be refunded.
• Your rental agent or broker asks for double mediation fees when renting out the property.
• Your rental contract is not separate from your employment contract.
• The information is not provided in a language you understand.
• You pay too much rent according to the rent check, and the landlord refuses to adjust the price. Learn more about the rent check at Is mijn huur te duur(Verwijst naar een externe website) (Is my rent too high?) on the Dutch Housing website.

For more information about the rules landlords must follow, visit the Dutch government's website(Verwijst naar een externe website).

Is your complaint about something else?

Other issues, such as poor maintenance or defects in the rental property, are not covered by the Good Landlordship Act or the Affordable Rent Act. On the website of the Dutch government, you can read more about your rights as a tenant(Verwijst naar een externe website) and what steps to take if your landlord is negligent.

Various organizations can help with rental disputes. For example:

• You can ask the Woonbond(Verwijst naar een externe website) questions about your tenant rights.
• The ‘Huurcommissie(Verwijst naar een externe website)’ (Rent Tribunal) can give an independent ruling.
• You can also seek legal advice from Juridisch Loket(Verwijst naar een externe website) (Legal Desk).

A simple explanation of your rights as a tenant is available at wonen.steffie.nl(Verwijst naar een externe website) (audio plays automatically).

Use our online complaint form to submit your complaint.