You bought a house in Moerdijk and eleven days later the municipality announces that the council wants the village to disappear. That happened to 31-year-old Lindsey and 30-year-old Terrence. The couple feels ‘pretty screwed’ and doesn’t want to leave it at that. They hire a lawyer. Yet lawyer and professor of Expropriation Law Jacques Sluysmans thinks that the two have a relatively small chance of being proven right.
For Lindsey and Terrence, there is a very bitter aftertaste when buying their new place on the Grintweg. “You buy a house from the municipality, and now we get this news. I wonder how this is possible.” According to Terrence, the municipality of Moerdijk knew about the plans for the village. That is why they want to see what is legally possible.
According to professor Jacques Sluysmans, the couple has a chance, but a small one. “The municipal council has to adhere to all kinds of rules, but if those rules are all followed correctly, then you can hardly stop such a development.”
Deception?
Before Lindsey and Terrence go to court, factual circumstances must be examined and what exactly you can rely on. “You could invoke deception if you have the idea that the municipality knew what was going on and deliberately did not tell them. I don’t know whether that is the case in this case, but based on what I know, that seems unlikely,” Sluysmans explains.
He thinks that deception is not an issue, but in that case, he believes, you can still assume error. “In the case of error, the question is to what extent you could have informed yourself about the situation. In Moerdijk you can conclude that it had been hanging over the market for about ten years that there was a risk.”
Talking to the municipality
According to Sluysmans, the best step is to consult with the municipality as soon as possible. Talk first before you go to court. “Maybe they have already done that, I don’t know. If you enter into such a conversation reasonably, you should be able to resolve it together.”
Moreover, the professor does not find the action of the municipality of Moerdijk particularly useful. “In retrospect, that’s stupid.” Not only because of the legal hassle that may now follow, but also because of the financial consequences for the municipality. After all, the new buyers will have to compensate for this at a price – probably higher than the purchase price. “They are now more expensive.”
Here you can read all the stories about the disappearance of the village of Moerdijk.