Bad landlord hotline

You can report bad rental behavior by a landlord (or a rental agent) to the municipality. For example, discrimination or an unreasonable lease.

Is your landlord not following the rules? Then you can report it.

Arrange online

Approach

You can report bad behavior by a landlord (or a rental agent) online or by phone. Bad behavior can include:

  • discrimination
  • threat
  • you did not receive a written lease
  • you did not receive written information about:
    • rights and duties of tenant and landlord
    • landlord contact information
    • An annual explanation of service charges (if there are service charges)
  • excessive security deposit (more than 2 times the monthly rent)
  • excessive service charges

Are you from another EU country, and working temporarily in the Netherlands? Report it to the municipality if:

  • the lease and the employment contract are 1 document. This applies to contracts entered into after July 1, 2023.
  • all written information accompanying the lease is in a language that you, as a migrant worker, do not understand.
Description

You can also report by phone: 043-388 50 00 from Monday to Friday between 9:00-17:00. It is also possible to report anonymously. In that case, please note that the municipality cannot contact you. For example, the municipality cannot ask you any questions about the abuse. Nor can the municipality then help you with a referral to organizations that can help you better, such as the rent control commission.

If the hotline cannot help you further themselves, they will tell you which agency or organization can. 

What does the Good Landlord Act mean?

The law is a basic national standard for good landlordism in the form of general rules. This basic standard governs the conduct of good landlords and rental intermediaries with house seekers and tenants.
The general rules apply to the entire rental process. So also on the rental of housing and the rental of accommodation to migrant workers.

Requirements

Discrimination

Discrimination is prohibited. Treating differently because of race, religion, political opinion, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, marital status, disability or chronic illness is not allowed.

Harassment

Harassment of housing seekers and tenants comes in many forms and is prohibited. By harassment, we mean forcing a person to do or not do something by physical or psychological force, threat of force, or a matter of fact.

Written requirement

A landlord or the rental agent is required to put the rental agreement in writing. Even if it is a verbal rental agreement. In the case of migrant workers, the labor agreement and rental agreement must be agreed upon separately.

Disclosure obligation

The tenant must know what his or her rights and obligations are. The landlord or rental agent is required to provide information to the tenant in writing and in a clear and understandable manner. This includes the tenant's legal rights and obligations about the property. Especially if these rights and duties are not in the lease.

Ban on charging double mediation fees

The law states that rental intermediaries may not charge double mediation fees. In practice, mediation fees are sometimes also called contract or administration fees. Even then it is prohibited.

Security deposit

The security deposit the tenant must pay cannot be more than twice the bare rent. The bare rent is the rent without service charges, costs for utilities, furniture and other amenities. The landlord must repay the security deposit to the tenant no later than 14 days after the lease ends. Unless there is damage in the property.

Service charges

Each year, the landlord must provide the tenant with a breakdown of the service charges incurred. The calculation, justification and increase of the advance payment amount must comply with legal regulations.

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