Attention! As of 1 January 2017, the municipality of Amsterdam has changed the rules for renting/renting out houses for multiple occupancy. An update will follow a.s.a.p. on our website.
Amsterdam has a shortage of houses in all categories, including starters. The wish is to live independently, but the reality for many is that this is not financially feasible. Let alone that it will ever be your turn for a social rental home. One solution is to share a house; together with others, you then rent a house in the private sector and share the (high) burden. Everyone is happy: starters have a place in the city they can call home, and landlords can ask a higher rent for their house (after all, three people with a job can pay more than one or two).
Not a problem, is it?
Maybe so, because there are actually rules about when a rental property may or may not be occupied by a number of adults. So when do you legally rent a house to a group of people?
The answer to this question is not as simple as it seems.
The municipality has also realised this through the results of the study ‘Woningdelen in Amsterdam’ (House sharing in Amsterdam) of February 2016. This study was commissioned by the municipality, in response to the memorandum ‘Room for house dividers’ of January 2014.
The municipality would like to facilitate as many different forms of housing in the city as possible, but of course without compromising the quality of life. In order to prevent excesses, rules have been drawn up that must be met in order for it to be allowed to share rental accommodation. On the one hand, these are rules for non-self-contained dwellings, such as student residences, in which a room is rented out. On the other hand, these are rules for independent residences that can be rented in various ways by a number of people.
So when is a house a student house, and must those rules be met, and when is it a house rented by a group? And when are there ‘abuses’ that should be enforced? The study of February 2016 shows that for almost all parties, tenants, landlords and enforcers, this is not unequivocal.
An example:
- Three adults live in a house with three bedrooms and a living room, each using their own bedroom. They pay the rent per person to the landlord.
b. Three adults live in a house with three bedrooms and a living room, they each use their own bedroom. They pay the rent from a joint account to the landlord.
c. Three adults live in a house with three bedrooms and a living room, they each use their own bedroom. They pay the rent to one of the three housemates, who pays the full amount to the landlord.
Although they may seem the same, there are legal differences in these situations and they may all fall under a different category. They must comply with different rules on a case-by-case basis in order to be legally rented and let.
These three situations could be seen as follows:
- Can be seen as a roomwise rental in a dwelling for which a residence permit is required. For further information, see https://www.amsterdam.nl/wonen-leefomgeving/wonen/bijzondere-situaties/woningdelen/wonen-per-kamer/.
b. Can be seen as a living group renting a house. For a legal situation, a number of other conditions must also be met in this case, which can be found at https://www.amsterdam.nl/wonen-leefomgeving/wonen/bijzondere-situaties/woningdelen/wonen-per-kamer/.
c. Can be seen as residence, and is legal if certain rules are met, such as can be found at https://www.amsterdam.nl/wonen-leefomgeving/wonen/bijzondere-situaties/woningdelen/inwonen/.
The differences are small in these situations and therefore there is little support for maintaining a relationship, because the feeling of legal inequality is encouraged. It is therefore possible that for this reason the municipality sometimes does not take action. One effect of enforcement could be that the residents are evicted. Something that the municipality does not aspire to, since the offence is generally not intentionally committed by the residents, nor by the landlord.
The real excesses, in which there are more adult tenants than rooms or in which fire safety is at stake, will of course be the subject of enforcement action.
As a result of the findings in the study, the municipality has decided to adjust part of the policy and create more clarity. It is the intention that this amended policy will come into force at the end of 2016. (See also https://www.amsterdam.nl/wonen-leefomgeving/wonen/bijzondere-situaties/woningdelen/)
If you are a landlord or tenant, and you have doubts whether you are legally (re)renting, do not hesitate to contact us.
Alicia Schoo
schoo@m2advocaten.nl
