Temporarily renting out your property: The Vacancy Law

Do you want to rent out your property temporarily under the Vacancy Law? Temporarily renting out your house has many advantages. Contact 123Wonen and we will help you further!

Is the sale of your house not going according to plan? Is your house for sale, but you don’t live there anymore? Have you considered renting out your house? Temporarily renting out your house has many advantages. We’ve put together a list of all the advantages for you. Save on the burden of two houses by generating income from a fully-screened tenant. 123Wonen has lots of experience with so-called “bridging rental” which fall under the Vacancy Law. We can take you through the application process for a permit from your municipality and requesting approval from your bank. Contact us to discuss your options.

Renting out your house for a fixed period

In the Netherlands, tenants are well protected by regulations. The tenant’s rights are included in the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek). This means that it is difficult for a landlord to unilaterally terminate a tenancy agreement. There are however some properly regulated options available for renting out your property for a fixed period. The various options can only be selected when all of the conditions are met beforehand. This is crucial, because otherwise the agreement won’t be considered legal, meaning the tenancy agreement will be seen as having no end date. Therefore, even if the agreement has been signed, the rent protection of the tenants doesn’t necessarily end simply because the agreement had the word temporary included. Besides this, this only works for legal forms of renting out property.

Legal options for renting out for a fixed period:

Vacancy Law 
Renting out your house which is for sale for a temporary period.

You urgently need to use the property or the diplomatic clause
You (urgently) need the house for yourself, or you want to renovate or demolish the property.

Temporary tenancy agreement
You sign a temporary tenancy agreement for a period of two years (private accommodation) or five years (shared accommodation) with a number of conditions

Renting out your property using the Vacancy Law

The rent control conditions of the Dutch Civil Code don’t apply for temporary renting out of your property under the Vacancy Law. The landlord and the property do however have to meet a number of conditions for the Vacancy Law to be valid.

The landlord has to apply for approval to rent out their house under the Vacancy Law and this permit must be mentioned in the written tenancy agreement. This permit lasts for a maximum of either two or five years, depending on the property type. There are limited options for extending this. The tenancy agreement ends automatically when the permit for the Vacancy Law expires.

Renting out your property based on the Vacancy Law is only permitted for certain types of housing. Depending on the type of accommodation, the tenancy agreement has to be at least three or six months long. For ending the tenancy agreement there is a notice period of either two or three months, again depending on the type of accommodation. This means that you are able to give notice on the contract after three months. After the notice period the house is again vacant. For the tenant, the notice period is up to one month. 123Wonen will happily help you with applying for the permit to rent out your property under the Vacancy Law as well as creating a tenancy agreement that meets the specific conditions of this law. Temporarily renting out your property with the aim of eventually living there again yourself.

Urgent own use of the property

Needing your own property back falls under urgent own use in legal terms. Sometimes it is also advisable to make arrangements in advance for own use once the tenants lease comes to an end. In this framework, the term ‘diplomatic clause’ is sometimes used.

The diplomatic clause makes it possible for a landlord to order the tenant to leave the property at the end of the tenancy because the landlord needs the property for themselves again. With regard to the diplomatic clause, the contract must meet a number of conditions. There is no standard contract available which can be used for this because every rental situation is different. 123Wonen is experienced with such contracts and is therefore the party for the job.

Temporary rental agreement

Thanks to a change in the law from 1st July 2016, it is possible to create a temporary tenancy agreement. In contrast to the former situation, these tenancy agreements are terminated when the end date is reached. A temporary tenancy agreement can be made for the duration of two years for independent housing and five years for shared accommodation.

A temporary tenancy agreement is subject to a number of specific rules. The landlord has to inform the tenant of the end of the tenancy agreement between one and three months before the final date. If the landlord fails to meet this requirement, then the tenancy agreement will become a regular tenancy agreement, including all the rent protection that is offered to tenants. 123Wonen is up to date with this change in the law and all the requirements for temporary tenancy agreements and will be able to offer you excellent advice and support.

Terminating the contract

Notice for a tenancy agreement for a fixed period must also be done in writing by signed-for mail in accordance with (legal) requirements. The notice period depends on the type and length of the tenancy agreement. It is important to clearly state the reasons for giving notice (end of the rental period). Ask the tenant to give written acknowledgement of you giving notice within six weeks and that they agree to this. For help and advice on writing a good termination letter you can always contact 123Wonen.

Requirements

The tenancy agreement must meet the following requirements:

If using the diplomatic clause, it must be specified in the tenancy agreement that you wish to move into the property at the end of the rental period;

It should be noted that the rented property should be vacated at the end of the rental period;

It should be noted that the tenant should leave the house clean, empty and provide all the keys for the property to the landlord

Do you want to rent out your property temporarily? You should let your insurer know as soon as possible. Temporarily renting out your property will almost always have financial consequences. Therefore it is recommended to contact the Tax Office or a financial advisor to find out what the consequences will be for your situation. Do you need help with renting out your property? Contact 123Wonen and we will help you further!