“Yes, I have a lot of sadness and a lot of stress,” said Xuchu Song. He has been running the snack bar in Zaandam-Zuid with his wife Lianhua for 24 years.
The conflict with the landlord has been going on for some time. According to Song, there is overdue maintenance, which is reason for him to no longer pay part of the rent. Rent arrears have now risen to tens of thousands of euros. The landlord states that there is non-payment and poor tenancy and has demanded eviction. Last week, Song was told that he must hand over the building empty on April 2.
Municipality as mediator?
The situation is not going unnoticed in local politics either. Democratic Zaanstad (DZ) has asked written questions to the council about the threatened closure of the snack bar on the Zuiddijk. The party wants to know whether the municipality can mediate between the landlord and the couple to prevent closure.
“It’s about protecting local entrepreneurship,” says Juliette Rot, group leader of Democratic Zaanstad. “We want to facilitate this as a local government, so we certainly see a role for the municipality in this.”
The landlord stated in a response that he understands the emotions that the situation evokes, but adheres to the legal steps that have been taken. “In recent years we have tried several times to find solutions together,” said the landlord. The full response can be read below.
