From mold on the walls to dead fish in the moat. Maurick Castle in Vught has been struggling with overdue maintenance for years. After years of struggle with the landlord, the judge has now decided that entrepreneurs Klaas van Leengoed and Niek van Lieverloo can renovate the castle. “We are happy for ourselves, but especially for all future bridal couples.”
Long before Niek and Klaas would rent the castle in Vught in 2015, it was a popular place for weddings, dinners and big parties. At first glance, the castle looks great, but if you look closely, you will see that maintenance has been behind for years. The paint peels from the frames, the carpet has water damage due to leaks and the lighting does not always work.
“Guests see it too, we regularly get comments about it,” says Niek. “But we can’t do much about it, the castle is not ours. The landlord has left maintenance for years. We are disappointed.”
“It is not the fairy tale plate that you expect.”
And it didn’t stop with some peeling paint. There were also large defects that guests immediately touched. “We had to move a dinner at the last minute because water was walking past the walls,” says Niek. Klaas adds: “And several times we sat with a clogged toilet. Then we had to send hundreds of people to the toilet across the street.”
The moat also came dry several times due to a lack of maintenance. “Once there were even dead fish in it,” says Klaas from the drawbridge in front of the castle. “That is not the fairy tale plate that you expect at a wedding location.”
The entrepreneurs have already raised the first defects eight years ago. Yet nothing happened for a long time, while they pay almost 25,000 euros in rent per month. “For that amount you can expect that the castle is a bit in order,” says Klaas.
“The judge has a monumental heart.”
The fight with the landlord of Maurick Castle about maintenance rose further and further. “We had invited the landlord for a round through the castle. He looked around and said,” It is not too bad. ” Then we thought: if this is their attitude, they will do it for years.
Since the start of the trial in 2023, the landlord has refurbished somewhat. Walls have been painted again, broken shutters have been replaced and the carpet will be laid again. “The castle has never looked so good in all those years,” says Klaas. But that’s not enough.
The judge decided last week that the castle should be tackled thoroughly. The list is long: the moat must be dredged, the air conditioning in the Orangerie must be replaced, rotten frames have to be removed, the sewer must be on the shovel and even the old clock has to ring outside again. “You notice that the judge has a monumental heart. Who thinks it is important that everything will be neat. We are very happy with that,” says Klaas.
